Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 5, 2024
Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared by researchers, and it was donated to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis, referring to the MIM Museum, with the Greek word daktylos for 'digit', and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent (which consisted of the then joined Arabian Peninsula and Africa), and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon. The marine deposits of Hjoula are late Cenomanian in age and are well-known for fish fossils. The holotype specimen is comparatively small, with a wingspan of 1.32 metres (4.3 ft), and was probably young. (Full article...)