and slender, and project to the sides and slightly downwards. The neural canal is small and nearly circular, is about in diameter, and there are no pneumatic foramina near it. Its condyle is broad, around five times wider than high, and is crescent-shaped in cross-section. The left postexapophysis is placed at the side of the condyle and almost vertical. Though none of the vertebrae preserve cervical ribs, the development of the transverse processes of the last vertebra indicates that it probably had ribs. The indeterminate bone fragment associated with the two last vertebrae has a similar texture to them, is flat and crescent-shaped, and is about wide and long. Pereda-Suberbiola and colleagues found that the frontmost preserved cervical vertebrae of Phosphatodraco (their C5–C7) were similar in form to those of the mid-series cervical vertebrae of other long-necked pterodactyloid pterosaurs (the group consisting of short-tailed pterosaurs). The last hindmost preserved vertebrae (their C8–C9) have some features in common with the rest of the vertebrae, including broad, ovoid cotyles and condyles, as well as postexapophyses, but they differ in their neural canal being demarcated from the centrum and in having a prominent neural spine. Pereda-Suberbiola and colleagues suggested the C8–C9 could be cervicalized dorsal vertebrae, back vertebrae which have been incorporated into the neck. The total number of cervical vertebrae in pterosaurs varies between seven and nine, and the first dorsal vertebra is considered to be the first one that connects with the sternum (breast bone). Early pterosaurs like Rhamphorhynchus had eight cervical vertebrae with cervical ribs on at least C3–C8; later pterodactyloids had seven vertebrae and no ribs. In later pterdactyloid groups, nine cervical vertebrae are present, two of them being cervicalized dorsals, and adults have a notarium (a structure consisting of fused vertebrae in the shoulder region, also seen in birds). Classification In their 2003 description Pereda-Suberbiola and colleagues considered Phosphatodraco a member of Azhdarchidae based on features such as its mid-series cervical vertebrae being elongated, with low vestigial (almost evolutionarily lost) or absent neural spines, the presence of prezygapophyseal tubercles, a pair of lower sulci near the prezygapophyses, and the lack of oval pneumatic foramina on the lower surfaces of the centra. These features are especially similar to those of Quetzalcoatlus and Azhdarcho. Other features distinguishing the group could not be identified in Phosphatodraco due to the preservation of its fossils. Longrich and colleagues performed a phylogenetic analysis that