View source for Comodactylus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| name = ''Comodactylus''
| fossil_range = [[Late Jurassic]], {{fossilrange|155}}
| genus = Comodactylus
| species = ostromi
| parent_authority = Galton, 1981
| authority = Galton, 1981
}}

'''''Comodactylus''''' is a [[genus]] of "[[rhamphorhynchoid]]" [[pterosaur]] from the [[Kimmeridgian]]-[[Tithonian]]-age [[Upper Jurassic]] [[Morrison Formation]] of [[Wyoming]], United States, named for a single wing [[metacarpal]].<ref name=PMG81>Galton, P.M. (1981). A rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic of North America. ''Journal of Paleontology'' '''55''':1117–1122.</ref>

In 1879 collector [[William Harlow Reed]] sent some fossil material he had excavated at [[Como Bluff]] in Quarry N° 9, or the "Mammal Quarry", to his employer Professor [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] at [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]]. Among it was the bone of a pterosaur that was subsequently filed, stored and forgotten.

In 1981 [[Peter Galton]] erected the genus ''Comodactylus'' based on this bone. The [[type species]] is ''Comodactylus ostromi''. The genus name is derived from Como Bluff and Greek ''daktylos'', meaning "finger", referring to the dramatically extended wing finger that is unique to pterosaurs. The [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]] honors [[John Ostrom]].

The [[holotype]] is '''[[Yale Peabody Museum|YPM]] 9150''', consisting of an intact fourth metacarpal measuring {{convert|57.5|mm|in|sp=us}} long. This holotype is the only known material from the animal. The metacarpal is quite robust, with the [[Anatomical terms of location|proximal]] end being very expanded. Such proportions are typical for basal pterosaurs such as ''[[Rhamphorhynchus]]'', suggesting ''Comodactylus'' was not a member of the advanced [[Pterodactyloidea]]. However, assigning it to a pterosaur clade beyond the [[Paraphyly|paraphyletic]] group "Rhamphorhynchoidea" has proven difficult due to a lack of diagnostic material. In 1989, [[James A. Jensen|James Jensen]] and [[Kevin Padian]] considered ''Comodactylus'' a [[nomen dubium]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=James A. |last2=Padian |first2=Kevin |date=1989 |title=Small Pterosaurs and Dinosaurs from the Uncompahgre Fauna (Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation: ?Tithonian), Late Jurassic, Western Colorado |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1305508 |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=364–373 |doi=10.1017/S0022336000019533 |jstor=1305508 |bibcode=1989JPal...63..364J |issn=0022-3360|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[David Unwin]] in 1993 suggested an affinity with ''[[Nesodactylus]]''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The wingspan has been estimated at 2.5 meters (8.2&nbsp;ft), exceptionally large for a pterosaur not belonging to the Pterodactyloidea.<ref name="PMG81" /> ''Comodactylus'' was also the first non-pterodactyloid pterosaur that was found in the Americas.

==See also==
* [[List of pterosaur genera]]
* [[Timeline of pterosaur research]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2501852}}

[[Category:Pterosaurs]]
[[Category:Late Jurassic pterosaurs of North America]]
[[Category:Morrison fauna]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Peter Galton]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1981]]


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