A remarkable new genus and species of gnathosaurine pterosaur being named Garudapterus buffetauti has been identified from a fossilized upper jaw found in eastern Thailand.
Garudapterus buffetauti. Image credit: DinoThaiThai / Manitkoon et al. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106135.
“Pterosauria is an order of extinct flying reptiles that once lived among dinosaurs in the Mesozoic time, with a fossil record spanning from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous,” said Shihezi University paleontologist Xuanyu Zhou and colleagues.
“Traditionally, there have been two major groups of pterosaurs.”
“The first comprises early branching members, which generally possess long tails and lengthy fifth toes (traditionally known as the paraphyletic suborder Rhamphorhynchoidea, now abolished).”
“The second is Pterodactyloidea, the larger group with highly reduced tails, relatively long metacarpals, and short or absent fifth toes.”
Garudapterus buffetauti belongs to Gnathosaurinae, a subfamily of pterosaurs within the Pterodactyloidea group.
The new species lived in what is now Thailand during the Early Cretaceous epoch, aprpoximately 130 million years ago.
The flying reptile’s fossilized remains were found at the Phra Prong locality in the southern region of the Phanom Dong Rak mountain range in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province.
The holotype of Garudapterus buffetauti — the first pterosaur cranial material in Thailand — consists of a partial rostrum and five incomplete teeth from a single individual.
“The anterior tip of the rostrum is dorsoventrally flattened and laterally expanded (spoon-shaped), indicating affinities to the Gnathosaurinae,” the paleontologists said.
“Alveoli borders are conspicuously scalloped and collar-like, and the palatal surface exhibits a pair of sinusoidal grooves.”
“These features bear a strong resemblance to the Late Jurassic gnathosaurines Gnathosaurus subulatus, Tacuadactylus luciae, and Lusognathus almadrava.”
The team’s phylogenetic analysis indicates that Garudapterus buffetauti is closely related to these gnathosaurines.
“Still, the Thai gnathosaurine is unique in exhibiting a kite-shaped rostrum expansion and is recognized as a new species,” the researchers said.
“This new specimen provides essential information regarding pterosaurs, including updated data for a better understanding of their diversity and distribution throughout Southeast Asia.”
The team’s paper was published this month in the journal Cretaceous Research.
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Sita Manitkoon et al. First gnathosaurine (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Early Cretaceous of eastern Thailand. Cretaceous Research, published online March 28, 2025; doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106135
