Seazzadactylus venieri gen. et sp. nov., a new pterosaur (Diapsida: Pterosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of northeastern Italy

Abstract

A new non-monofenestratan pterosaur with multicusped dentition, Seazzadactylus venieri, is described from the Upper Triassic (middle-upper Norian) of the Carnian Prealps (northeastern Italy). The holotype of S. venieri preserves a complete mandibular and maxillary dentition, along with a nearly complete premaxillary one, showing unique features. Furthermore, the arrangement of the premaxillary teeth and the shape of jugal, pterygoid, ectopterygoid, scapula and pteroid are unique within non-monofenestratan pterosaurs. S. venieri is similar and closely related to Carniadactylus rosenfeldi and Austriadraco dallavecchiai, which are also from the Alpine middle-upper Norian of Italy and Austria, respectively. In a parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis, S. venieri is found to nest within a clade of Triassic pterosaurs composed of Arcticodactylus cromptonellus, Austriadraco dallavecchiai, Carniadactylus rosenfeldi and a trichotomy of Raeticodactylus filisurensis, Caviramus schesaplanensis and MCSNB 8950. This unnamed clade is basal within the Pterosauria, but is not the basalmost clade. Eudimorphodon ranzii lies outside this clade and is more derived, making the Eudimorphodontidae paraphyletic. S. venieri increases the diversity of Triassic pterosaurs and brings the number of pterosaur genera and species in the Dolomia di Forni Formation to four.