Bogolubovia
Encyclopedia
Bogolubovia is a genus
of pterosaur
from the Upper Cretaceous (early Campanian
) Rybushka Formation of Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast
, Russia
. It is named for Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov, the palaeontologist who discovered the remains in 1914. It has in 1991 been assigned to the Azhdarchidae
. Wellnhofer (1991) however, retained it in the Pteranodontidae
. Bogolubov had initially assigned the specimen, consisting of a single partial large cervical vertebra, as a new species of Ornithostoma
, O. orientalis. It was later reclassified as a species of Pteranodon
, before being assigned its own genus by Lev Nesov and Alexander Yarkov in 1989. The holotype
has probably been lost, but other partial remains have been referred to the genus.
Most modern paleontologists consider it a probable member of the family Azhdarchidae
. It would have been a mid-sized member of this family, with an estimated wingspan of 3-4 meters (9.8-13 feet) suggested by the holotype; a later found radius
indicates a wingspan of 4.3 meters.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
from the Upper Cretaceous (early Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
) Rybushka Formation of Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast
Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast
Petrovsk is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the Medveditsa River northwest of Saratov. Population:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is named for Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov, the palaeontologist who discovered the remains in 1914. It has in 1991 been assigned to the Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebrae apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well...
. Wellnhofer (1991) however, retained it in the Pteranodontidae
Pteranodontidae
The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America.The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh....
. Bogolubov had initially assigned the specimen, consisting of a single partial large cervical vertebra, as a new species of Ornithostoma
Ornithostoma
Ornithostoma is a genus created in 1871 by H. Govier Seeley for a number of skeletal fragments, mostly of jaws, of toothless pterosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand of England, today often assigned to the Pteranodontidae. One of these fragments had in 1859 been described by...
, O. orientalis. It was later reclassified as a species of Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
, before being assigned its own genus by Lev Nesov and Alexander Yarkov in 1989. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
has probably been lost, but other partial remains have been referred to the genus.
Most modern paleontologists consider it a probable member of the family Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebrae apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well...
. It would have been a mid-sized member of this family, with an estimated wingspan of 3-4 meters (9.8-13 feet) suggested by the holotype; a later found radius
Radius
In classical geometry, a radius of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment, which is half the diameter. If the object does not have an obvious center, the term may refer to its...
indicates a wingspan of 4.3 meters.