Recovering lost time in Syria: a gigantic latest Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Palmyrides mountain chain
Abstract
Azhdarchidae was a diverse group of toothless pterosaurs and one of the few lineages of flying reptiles to survive to the end of the Cretaceous. Despite including medium-sized forms, the group is notable for their gigantic representatives, which correspond to the largest known flying animals. Azhdarchids had a nearly global distribution during the Late Cretaceous, including the Arabian Plate, with records in Lebanon and Jordan, such as the iconic Arambourgiana philadelphiae. Here we report the first azhdarchid, and indeed the first pterosaur, from Syria, recovered from early Maastrichtian phosphate deposits of the Palmyrides mountain chain, near Palmyra (Tadmur). It corresponds to a fragmentary left humerus, missing both its proximal and distal ends, with a preserved length of 289 mm. The Syrian pterosaur was exceptionally large, with extrapolations suggesting that, if complete, its humerus would be only about 10% smaller than the holotype humerus of Quetzalcoatlus northropi, the largest known pterosaur. The new pterosaur fossil also represents the uncommon record of a giant azhdarchid in marine deposits, confirming that these gigantic animals, though classically considered continental, could also inhabit nearshore environments. The find also underscores the widespread occurrence of gigantic azhdarchids until the latest Cretaceous, just prior to their Cretaceous/Paleogene extinction, and highlights the potential for fossil discoveries in understudied regions such as the Middle East.
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BibTeX
@article{alhalabi2026recovering,
title = {{Recovering lost time in Syria: a gigantic latest Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Palmyrides mountain chain}},
author = {Wafa Alhalabi and Felipe Pinheiro and Issam Bou Jaoude and Mohamad Ismail and Xabier Pereda Suberbiola and Nathalie Bardet and Max Langer},
journal = {The Science of Nature Naturwissenschaften},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1007/s00114-025-02032-9},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760709v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Recovering lost time in Syria: a gigantic latest Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Palmyrides mountain chain
AU - Wafa Alhalabi
AU - Felipe Pinheiro
AU - Issam Bou Jaoude
AU - Mohamad Ismail
AU - Xabier Pereda Suberbiola
AU - Nathalie Bardet
AU - Max Langer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - The Science of Nature Naturwissenschaften
DO - 10.1007/s00114-025-02032-9
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760709v1
AB - Azhdarchidae was a diverse group of toothless pterosaurs and one of the few lineages of flying reptiles to survive to the end of the Cretaceous. Despite including medium-sized forms, the group is notable for their gigantic representatives, which correspond to the largest known flying animals. Azhdarchids had a nearly global distribution during the Late Cretaceous, including the Arabian Plate, with records in Lebanon and Jordan, such as the iconic Arambourgiana philadelphiae. Here we report the first azhdarchid, and indeed the first pterosaur, from Syria, recovered from early Maastrichtian phosphate deposits of the Palmyrides mountain chain, near Palmyra (Tadmur). It corresponds to a fragmentary left humerus, missing both its proximal and distal ends, with a preserved length of 289 mm. The Syrian pterosaur was exceptionally large, with extrapolations suggesting that, if complete, its humerus would be only about 10% smaller than the holotype humerus of Quetzalcoatlus northropi, the largest known pterosaur. The new pterosaur fossil also represents the uncommon record of a giant azhdarchid in marine deposits, confirming that these gigantic animals, though classically considered continental, could also inhabit nearshore environments. The find also underscores the widespread occurrence of gigantic azhdarchids until the latest Cretaceous, just prior to their Cretaceous/Paleogene extinction, and highlights the potential for fossil discoveries in understudied regions such as the Middle East.
SN - 0028-1042
SN - 1432-1904
ER -