Microtuban

Microtuban is known from only one partial skeleton that lacks the skull. The bones include parts of the neck, shoulder, left wing, and hind legs.1

The fossil was found in marine rocks that formed about 99 to 96 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

Microtuban was a young animal when it died. Many of its bones were broken, possibly from a predator's bite or a collision before it sank to the seafloor.1

It is only the second pterosaur fossil ever found in Lebanon, and a rare example from the ancient African continental plate.1

The name Microtuban combines Greek for 'little' and Arabic for 'dragon', also referencing the star Thuban in the constellation Draco.1

Microtuban belonged to a group called azhdarchoid pterosaurs, which includes some of the largest flying animals ever.1