View source for Haliskia

{{Short description|Genus of anhanguerian pterosaurs}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Early Cretaceous]], middle–upper {{fossilrange|Albian|Albian|[[Albian]]}}
| image = Haliskia (KK F1426, holotype).png
| image_caption = ''Haliskia'' holotype (photograph)
| image2 = Haliskia (KK F1426, holotype - drawing).png
| image2_caption =  ''Haliskia'' holotype (drawing)
| display_parents = 4
| genus = Haliskia
| parent_authority = Pentland et al., [[2024 in archosaur paleontology|2024]]
| species = peterseni
| authority = Pentland et al., 2024
}}
'''''Haliskia''''' (meaning "sea phantom") is an [[extinct]] genus of [[anhangueria]]n [[pteranodontoid]] pterosaurs from the [[Early Cretaceous]] [[Toolebuc Formation]] ([[Eromanga Basin]]) of Australia. The genus contains a [[Monotypic taxon|single species]], '''''H. peterseni''''', known from a partial skeleton with skull. ''Haliskia'' represents the most complete pterosaur known from Australia.
== Discovery and naming ==
[[File:Cretaceous outcrops in Queensland - Pterosaur fossil localities.png|thumb|left|Geologic map of Queensland, Australia indicating Dig Site 3, the [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] of ''Haliskia'']]
The ''Haliskia'' [[holotype]] specimen, [[Kronosaurus Korner|KK]] F1426, was discovered by Kevin Petersen in November 2021 within sediments of the [[Toolebuc Formation]] (Dig Site 3) near [[Richmond, Queensland|Richmond]] in [[Queensland]], Australia. The specimen consists of a partial skeleton preserved on multiple slabs. With approximately 22% of the skeleton known, ''Haliskia'' represents the most complete pterosaur currently described from the continent. The bones represented include the [[Anatomical terms of location#Anterior and posterior|anterior]] part of the skull (including a partial [[premaxilla]] crest), the [[mandible]], several isolated teeth, a [[cervical vertebrae|cervical]] and [[dorsal vertebra]], [[ribs]], the left [[scapulocoracoid]], bones of the [[forelimb|fore-]] and [[hindlimb]]s, and other fragments.<ref name="Haliskia">{{Cite journal|last1=Pentland |first1=A. H. |last2=Poropat |first2=S. F. |last3=Duncan |first3=R. J. |last4=Kellner |first4=A. W. A. |last5=Bantim |first5=R. A. M. |last6=Bevitt |first6=J. J. |last7=Tait |first7=A. M. |last8=Grice |first8=K. |title=''Haliskia peterseni'', a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia |year=2024 |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |volume=14 |at=11789 |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-60889-8 |doi-access=free |pmc=11169243 }}</ref><ref name="Conversation">{{Cite web |last=Pentland |first=Adele |date=2024-06-12 |title=100-million-year-old fossil find reveals huge flying reptile that patrolled Australia’s inland sea |url=http://theconversation.com/100-million-year-old-fossil-find-reveals-huge-flying-reptile-that-patrolled-australias-inland-sea-231393 |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref>
In 2024, Pentland et al. [[Species description|described]] ''Haliskia peterseni'' as a new genus and species of anhanguerian pterosaurs based on these fossil remains. The [[Genus|generic name]], ''Haliskia'', combines the [[Greek language|Greek]] words ''[[wikt:ἅλς|ἅλς]]'' (''háls''), meaning "sea", and ''[[wikt:σκῐᾱ́|σκῐᾱ́]]'' (''skiā́''), referring to a "phantom", "shadow", or "evil spirit". The name invokes a flying phantom-like creature whose shadow haunted the prehistoric [[Eromanga Sea]]. The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''peterseni'', honours Kevin Petersen, the discoverer and preparator of the holotype.<ref name="Haliskia"/><ref name="Conversation" />
== Description ==
[[File:Haliskia Life Restoration.png|thumb|[[Life restoration]] by Gabriel N. Ugueto]]
The holotype specimen of ''Haliskia'' represents a skeletally mature individual, as indicated by the fusion of the finger bones and scapulocoracoid. Based on more complete and proportionally similar relatives such as ''[[Arthurdactylus]]'', the [[wingspan]] of ''Haliskia'' can be estimated at {{convert|4.6|m|ft}}.<ref name="Haliskia"/> In comparison, the closely related ''[[Ferrodraco]]'' has a slightly smaller wingspan of around {{convert|4|m|ft}},<ref name="Ferrodraco">{{Cite journal |last=Pentland |first=Adele H. |last2=Poropat |first2=Stephen F. |last3=Tischler |first3=Travis R. |last4=Sloan |first4=Trish |last5=Elliott |first5=Robert A. |last6=Elliott |first6=Harry A. |last7=Elliott |first7=Judy A. |last8=Elliott |first8=David A. |date=December 2019 |title=''Ferrodraco lentoni'' gen. et sp. nov., a new ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) of Queensland, Australia| journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=13454 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-49789-4 |pmid=31582757 |pmc=6776501 |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> and ''[[Mythunga]]'' likely had a wingspan between {{convert|4|-|6|m|ft}}.<ref name="Mythunga2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Pentland |first1=Adele H. |last2=Poropat |first2=Stephen F. |date=2019 |title=Reappraisal of ''Mythunga camara'' Molnar & Thulborn, 2007 (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueria) from the upper Albian Toolebuc Formation of Queensland, Australia |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0195667118302775 |journal=[[Cretaceous Research]] |language=en |volume=93 |pages=151–169 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2018.09.011}}</ref>
== Classification ==
To test the affinities of ''Haliskia'', Pentland et al. (2024) scored it in two phylogenetic datasets. Both resulting trees differed significantly in topology, relationships, and clade composition. However, in both trees, ''Haliskia'' was recovered in a clade with ''[[Ferrodraco]]'', which is known from the slightly younger [[Winton Formation]] ([[Cenomanian]]–early [[Turonian]]). Both datasets also agreed that ''Haliskia'' can confidently be regarded as a member of the [[Ornithocheirae]].<ref name="Haliskia"/>
Using the dataset of Holgado and Pêgas (2020),<ref name="Holgado&Pêgas">{{cite journal |author1=Borja Holgado |author2=Rodrigo V. Pêgas |year=2020 |title=A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae |journal=[[Acta Palaeontologica Polonica]] |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=743–761 |doi=10.4202/app.00751.2020 |s2cid=222075296 |doi-access=free }}</ref> the two genera were recovered in a [[polytomy]] with ''[[Mythunga]]'', which is known from the same formation as ''Haliskia''. This clade is the [[sister taxon]] to one formed by ''[[Siroccopteryx]]'' and ''[[Tropeognathus]]'' within the [[Tropeognathinae]], similar to the results of Richards et al. (2023) who referred to these clades as the Mythungini and Tropeognathini, respectively.<ref name="Richards2023">{{cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=Timothy |last2=Stumkat |first2=Paul |last3=Salisbury |first3=Steven |title=A second specimen of the pterosaur ''Thapunngaka shawi'' from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Toolebuc Formation of North West Queensland, Australia |journal=[[Cretaceous Research]] |date=6 October 2023 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105740 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123002689 |access-date=7 October 2023|doi-access=free }}</ref> The results of this matrix also placed tropeognathines within the [[Anhangueridae]]. These results are displayed below in '''Topology A'''.<ref name="Haliskia"/>
Using the dataset of Andres (2021),<ref name=Andres>{{Cite journal |last1=Andres |first1=Brian |date=2021-12-14 |title=Phylogenetic systematics of ''Quetzalcoatlus'' Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea) |journal=[[Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology]] |volume=41 |issue=sup1 |pages=203–217 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2020.1801703 |bibcode=2021JVPal..41S.203A
|s2cid=245078533 |issn=0272-4634 |doi-access=free}}</ref> ''Haliskia'' and ''Ferrodraco'' were found in a clade as the sister to the [[Ornithocheirinae]] within the [[Ornithocheiridae]]. The results of this matrix placed ornithocheirids as the sister taxon to anhangueirds. These results are displayed below in '''Topology B'''.<ref name="Haliskia"/>
{{clade gallery |width=450px |height=400px
|caption1=Topology A: Holgado and Pêgas (2020) dataset<ref name="Holgado&Pêgas" />
|cladogram1=
{{clade
|{{clade
|1=[[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] ornithocheirean(s)
|label2=[[Anhangueridae]]
|2={{clade
|1=[[Targaryendraconia]]
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Hamipterus]]''
|2=''[[Iberodactylus]]'' }}
|3={{clade
|1=[[Anhanguerinae]]
|2=[[Coloborhynchinae]]
|label3=[[Tropeognathinae]]
|3={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Ferrodraco]]''
|2='''''Haliskia'''''
|3=''[[Mythunga]]'' }}
|4={{clade
|1=''[[Siroccopteryx]]''
|2=''[[Tropeognathus]]''
}} }} }} }} }} }}|label1=[[Ornithocheirae]]}}
|caption2=Topology B: Andres (2021) dataset<ref name="Andres" />
|cladogram2=
{{clade
|{{clade
|1=[[Anhangueridae]]
|label2=[[Ornithocheiridae]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Tropeognathus]]''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Ferrodraco]]''
|2='''''Haliskia''''' }}
|label3=[[Ornithocheirinae]]
|3={{clade
|1=''[[Ornithocheirus]]'' spp.
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Siroccopteryx]]''
|2=''[[Coloborhynchus]]'' spp.
}} }} }} }} }}|label1=[[Ornithocheirae]]}}
}}<!-- end clade gallery-->
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Pterosauria|P.}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q126540216|from2=Q126540218}}
[[Category:Pteranodontoids]]
[[Category:Pterosaurs of Australia]]
[[Category:Early Cretaceous reptiles of Australia]]
[[Category:Early Cretaceous pterosaurs]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2024]]