Archovember 2025 Day 6
Pterosaur Keresdrakon vilsoni, of Early Cretaceous, Brazil!
Our next pterosaur is the desert-dwelling azhdarchoid, Keresdrakon vilsoni. Keresdrakon was found in a bonebed called the Cemitério dos Pterossauros ("Pterosaur Graveyard") Quarry, surrounded by hundreds of the much more common Caiuajara, a small tapejarid, as well as the noasaurid theropod Vespersaurus. Among pterosaurs, this is the first direct evidence of sympatry: direct association with other species (instead of being found in the same stratigraphic unit). Keresdrakon’s long legs and azhdarchid-like beak seem to hint that it was an opportunistic predator, and its association with the Caiuajaras may not have been friendly. Perhaps Keresdrakon was poking around their colony, looking for unattended eggs and flaplings. Or maybe it was just a scavenger picking at the remains of the smaller pterosaurs when a sudden sandstorm or a flash flood caused it to drown in the same oasis.
Aside from Caiuajara and Vespersaurus, Keresdrakon vilsoni would have lived alongside a few other known animals in the Goio-Erê Formation. These include another tapejarid, Torukjara, the herbivorous ceratosaurian Berthasaura, and the iguanian lizard Gueragama.
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