FEEDING TRACES ON A PTERANODON (REPTILIA: PTEROSAURIA) BONE FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (CAMPANIAN) MOOREVILLE CHALK IN ALABAMA, USA
FEEDING TRACES ON A PTERANODON (REPTILIA: PTEROSAURIA) BONE FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (CAMPANIAN) MOOREVILLE CHALK IN ALABAMA, USA
复制标题
美国阿拉巴马州白垩纪晚期（坎帕尼亚）莫尔维尔白垩纪翼龙（爬行类：翼龙）骨骼上的进食痕迹
作者：
Dana J. Ehret;T. L. Harrell
摘要翼龙化石在亚拉巴马晚白垩世的海相白垩岩中极为罕见，所发现的少数标本通常都是非常零碎的。我们报告的发生掌骨的无齿翼龙比照。产于亚拉巴马州达拉斯县的穆尔维尔白垩（坎帕尼亚，8300万年前）的长头植物。无齿翼龙标本在骨骼表面显示出锯齿状的齿痕，还有一组更大的、不锯齿状的齿痕，与任何当代鲨鱼物种的齿痕不同。这些进食痕迹与角鲨（Squalicorax kaupi）的齿间距和形态，以及小型至中型的蜥齿类鱼类（如蜥齿龙（Saurodon）或蜥头龙（Saurocephalus））相比，毫不逊色。在这两种情况下，由于缺乏任何愈合或骨重建，进食痕迹似乎是清除事件。在坎帕尼亚时期，亚拉巴马的达拉斯县是一个浅海环境，包括密西西比湾的一部分。据推测，该标本代表了一种翼龙，它要么落入海洋沃茨，要么从近海地区被冲出来，然后被软骨鱼类和硬骨鱼类清除。这种类型的食腐行为在晚白垩世的亚拉巴马的其他分类群中也有记录。然而，翼龙脆弱、中空的骨骼使它们的保存非常罕见。
Abstract Pterosaur remains are exceptionally rare in the Late Cretaceous marine chalks of Alabama and the few specimens found are typically very fragmentary. We report the occurrence of a metacarpal of Pteranodon cf. longiceps from the Mooreville Chalk (Campanian, 83 million years old) of Dallas County, Alabama. The Pteranodon specimen exhibits serrated teeth marks on the surface of the bone and a second set of larger, unserrated teeth marks unlike those of any contemporary shark species. These feeding traces compare favorably with the tooth spacing and morphology of Squalicorax kaupi, and a small to moderate-sized saurodontid fish, such as Saurodon or Saurocephalus, respectively. In both instances, feeding traces appear to be scavenging events due to the lack of any healing or bone remodeling. During the Campanian, Dallas County, Alabama, was a shallow-marine environment comprising part of the Mississippi Embayment. It is hypothesized that the specimen represents a pterosaur that either fell into marine waters or was washed out from nearshore areas and then scavenged by both a chondrichthyan and osteichthyan. This type of scavenging behavior has been recorded on other taxonomic groups from Alabama during the Late Cretaceous. However, the fragile, hollow bones of pterosaurs make their preservation rare.