← Environments

Karabastau Svita

The Kazakh forests were home to some of the best-known pterosaur fossils, the kind of revolutionary fossils that changed our opinion about them forever.

Location
Kazakhstan
Age
Middle Jurassic – Late Jurassic

A rather poorly-known rock formation from Kazakhstan, the best fossil from this area is that of Sordes pilosus.

Pterosaurs

Sordes is a rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Oxfordian to the Kimmeridgian Stages of the Late Jurassic about 155 million years ago. This genus is the first known for having properly preserved outlines of wing membranes and furry pycnofibers. Another pterosaur from the formation is the anurognathid Batracognathus. 

Neither of these genera was very big, around 60 to 75 centimeters across in terms of wingspan. 

They both probably ate insects, of which there are plenty in the Karabastau.

Amphibians

Another animal from the area is Karaurus, a salamander.

Crocodylomorphs

The other vertebrate from this formation is Karatausuchus, an atoposaur. Atoposaurs are a family of small, terrestrial crocodylomorphs that existed throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. 

The genus is probably known for soft tissue remains and a few juvenile specimens.

Pterosaurs: The Field Guide — book cover

On Kickstarter · August 1

Pterosaurs: The Field Guide

Every known genus, illustrated and documented in one book. We launch on Kickstarter August 1. Leave your email and we’ll send you the link the moment it goes live.