Welcome to Alcione
Name Definition
named after Aeolus’s daughter in Greek mythology, Alcyone
Name Given By
Nicholas Longrich, David Martill, and B. Andres in 2018
Location
Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, Africa
Classification
Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontoidea, Pteranodontia, Nyctosauridae
Size
about 0.3 meters tall (0.9 ft), an estimated 2 meter (6.5 ft) wide wingspan
Temporal Range
Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous, somewhere around 66 million years ago
Ecological niche
small piscivore
Species/Sub Species
A. elainus
Diet
one theory is that Alcione elainus was like the modern kingfisher and used its short wings to aid in movement underwater so as to effectively hunt fish
Introduction
Alcione elainus is a species of nyctosaurid pterosaurs that lived in Morocco during the late Cretaceous. The genus is named after Alcyone, who is the daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds, and also transformed into a seabird in Greek mythology. The species name, elainus, comes from the Greek word elaino which means to wander around or meander. Alcione has been noted to possess very short wings from the post cranial elements recovered, and as seen in some non-skimming piscivorous birds today, Alcione could have used these wings to aid in movement underwater. Combined with the fact that it was discovered in a marine environment, it could mean that Alcione lived a similar lifestyle to that of birds like the kingfisher, and it also lived alongside two other nyctosaurids, Simurghia and Barbaridactylus. It could also support more rapid flight while airborne than other pterosaurs. Besides the shockingly short wings, Alcione also has some other distinguishing features such as a narrow and Y-shaped mandible, as well as a boomerang shaped scapulocoracoid which is common in nyctosaurids, and is less intense in pteranodontids which made it classified as a nyctosaur. The Ouled Abdoun Basin was very rich and abundant in marine life which included many bony fishes, sharks and other cartilaginous fish, turtles, plesiosaurs, and even mosasaurs. On land, the rare amount of dinosaur fossils found include the abelisaurid Chenanisaurus, the small hadrosaur Ajnabia, an unnamed titanosaur, and the two birds Dasornis and Lithoptila, as well as some primitive mammals making up the land ecosystem. In the skies, there were several genera of pterosaurs found in the basin including Alcione, Barbaridactylus, and Simurghia as mentioned before, the azhdarchid Phosphatodraco mauritanicus, an unidentified species of Arambourgiania, another unnamed genus of azhdarchid, and the fourth azhdarchid present which is Tethydraco regalis.