Genus
Valid Extinct

Thapunngaka

Richards et al. 2021

Thapunngaka is a genus of ornithocheiriform pterosaur recovered from the Early Cretaceous marine Toolebuc Formation in Queensland, Australia. Thapunngaka represents the largest pterosaur known from the Australian continent. The genus currently contains a single species, Thapunngaka shawi.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Thapunngaka
click to enlarge
Artists reconstruction of KKF 494 (Thapunngaka shawi). Extra information can be found on the image itself. White is known material, grey is reconstructed. The large boxes are 50cm and the small boxes are 10cm. © Sauriazoicillus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
›
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
›
Pteranodontia Unranked clade
›
Ornithocheiroidea Superfamily
›
Anhangueridae Family
›
Tropeognathinae Subfamily
›
Thapunngaka Genus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇦🇺 Australia
2
Geological formations
Toolebuc
2
Temporal distribution
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
2
Species (1)
Thapunngaka shawi 113 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
T. M. Richards, P. E. Stumkat, and S. W. Salisbury. 2021. A new species of crested pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) of Richmond, north west Queensland, Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(3):e1946068 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
T. M. Richards, P. E. Stumkat, and S. W. Salisbury. 2023. A second specimen of the pterosaur Thapunngaka shawi from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Toolebuc Formation of North West Queensland, Australia. Cretaceous Research 154(105740):1-18 DOI ↗
T. M. Richards, P. E. Stumkat, and S. W. Salisbury. 2021. A new species of crested pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) of Richmond, north west Queensland, Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(3):e1946068 DOI ↗