Samrukia

Samrukia was a large archosaur, most likely a pterosaur, that was originally thought to be one of the largest terrestrial birds in the Mesozoic. The only known specimen was found in Cretaceous deposits in Kazakhstan.

Description
As Samrukia is known only from a single lower jaw, it is not known with certainty its anatomical details. When it was thought to be a bird, two size estimates were brought up: a wingspan of about 4 meters (if it could fly) or a height of around 2 to 3 meters (if it was terrestrial).

Classification and History
At first, the single jaw was believed to come from an oviraptorosaur dinosaur, but it was then analyzed to be part of the bird lineage Ornithuromorpha. If Samrukia was a bird, if would be of the same size and stature as Gargantuavis, a large, terrestrial bird from France. The fossil was described as Samrukia nessovi by Darren Naish and Gareth Dyke in August 2011.

However, later that year its identification as a bird was challenged by Eric Buffetaut, who pointed out that the avian characteristics of Samrukia were also found on pterosaurs. Naish agreed with Buffetaut's reassessment, although he pointed out that Samrukia does not appear to be "just any old pterosaur."