A genus of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of European Russia is called Volgadraco, or "Volga River dragon." At first, Volgadraco was categorized as an azhdarchid. Recent research has shown that it could be a member of the Pteranodontidae or Nyctosauridae families. The lower beak (holotype SGU, no. 46/104a) and postcranial pieces from Saratov, Russia's early Campanian-age Rybushka Formation are the only sources of information known about Volgadraco. This animal falls in between the later Maastrichtian azhdarchids like Quetzalcoatlus and the earlier Santonian or Turonian azhdarchids like Azhdarcho and Bakonydraco in terms of size and the development of the blood supply in the lower jaw. The 2008 description of Volgadraco was provided by Averianov, Arkhangelsky, and Pervushov. The specific name V. bogolubovi honors Russian paleontologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov, and is used as the type species. The authors believe the genus Bogolubovia, which was previously identified, is a nomen dubium and may really be the same as Volgadraco; however, a 2022 publication disputes their findings, claiming that Bogolubovia and Volgadraco are both legitimate pteranodontids.
Phylogeny
The evolutionary study reported by Nicholas Longrich and colleagues in 2018 is seen in the cladogram below. Although Volgadraco has been identified in some analyses as an azhdarchid or pteranodontid, Longrich and colleagues have identified it as a member of the Nyctosauridae family.
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Reconstruction of Volgadraco, by PaleoEquii.
Sources