Scientifically named Galgadraco zephyrius, the new species represents the first Brazilian azhdarchid pterosaur and bears striking similarities to a species from the Haţeg Basin of Romania.
Life reconstruction of a pair of Galgadraco zephyrius in a Late Maastrichtian environment, showcasing the paleobiota of the Serra da Galga Geosite. Image credit: Matheus Gadelha.
Galgadraco zephyrius lived in what is now Brazil during the Late Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period, around 70 to 67 million years ago.
The flying reptile was a type of azhdarchid, a very particular group of pterosaurs, especially notorious for including the largest flying organisms ever.
“The Azhdarchidae are the most diverse and widespread clade of pterosaurs during the Turonian-Maastrichtian interval (94-67 million years ago), being an almost ubiquitous presence in pterosaur assemblages at that time and particularly associated with inland environments,” said Dr. R. Vargas Pêgas from the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo and colleagues.
“Considering this, the finding of an azhdarchid in the Bauru Group of Brazil — a fossil-rich Upper Cretaceous, inland deposit — should be expected.”
“Before our work, the absence of pterosaur remains in the Bauru Group was notorious, especially considering the richness and diversity of its tetrapod fauna.”
“Additionally, the discovery of Galgadraco zephyrius bridges a significant temporal gap in the regional record of pterosaurs, given that the most recent previous findings from the Bauru Supersequence date back to the Lower Cretaceous Caiuá Group.”
The paleontologists found Galgadraco zephyrius’ fragmentary jaw in the Serra da Galga Formation.
“The specimen came from the Serra da Galga Geosite, located 25 km north of Uberaba County, at the Serra da Galga (Galga Hill),” they said.
“This site corresponds to the type locality of the sauropod titanosaur Uberabatitan ribeiroi, and is also known as the BR-050 site.”
Galgadraco zephyrius was a medium-to-large pterosaur with a wingspan of between 4 and 5 m (13-16 feet).
The species represents the first Brazilian azhdarchid and is strikingly similar to Albadraco tharmisensis from Romania.
“Despite being fragmentary, the specimen has a unique morphology distinct from any other azhdarchoid,” the researchers said.
“It bears a particular suite of morphological characteristics that enable its identification as a close relative of the coeval European azhdarchid Albadraco tharmisensis, most particularly the V-shaped rostrum cross-section, low/rounded tomial edges, symmetrically paired rows of occlusal foramina, and a high foramination index.”
“The sister-taxon relationship between the new form and Albadraco tharmisensis is supported by our phylogenetic analysis.”
“Finally, the discovery of diminutive, potentially syntopic hatchling pterosaur specimens is of great significance due to the rarity of this association.”
The discovery is reported in a paper published this month in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.
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Ariovaldo A. Giaretta et al. 2025. The first pterosaur from the Bauru Group: an azhdarchid from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil. Papers in Palaeontology 11 (5): e70039; doi: 10.1002/spp2.70039
