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Istiodactylid Skulls
Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus ''Istiodactylus'' was discovered not to be a member of the genus ''Ornithodesmus''. Systematics and distribution Remains of taxa that can be confidently assigned to Istiodactylidae have been found in the UK and China, in rocks dating from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian stage). Arbour and Currie (2011) described Canadian '' Gwawinapterus beardi'' as a member of Istiodactylidae living in the late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage); however, Witton (2012) suggested the tooth replacement pattern in this animal does not match that of pterosaurs, suggesting that the species might be non-pterosaurian. Additional research suggested that the species was in fact a fish. The earliest known species might be ''Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis'', from the Middle Jurassic of China; however, it also has been suggested that the holotype specimen of this species might actuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Proposals for the exact age of the Barremian-Aptian boundary ranged from 126 to 117 Ma until recently (as of 2019), but based on drillholes in Svalbard the defining early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) was carbon isotope dated to 123.1±0.3 Ma, limiting the possible range for the boundary to c. 122–121 Ma. There is a possible link between this anoxic event and a series of Early Cretaceous large igneous provinces (LIP). The Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi large igneous province, emplaced in the South Pacific at c. 120 Ma, is by far the largest LIP in Earth's history. The Ontong Java Plateau today covers an area of 1,860,000 km2. In the Indian Ocean another LIP began to form at c. 120 Ma, the Kerguelen P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiodactylid Skulls
Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus ''Istiodactylus'' was discovered not to be a member of the genus ''Ornithodesmus''. Systematics and distribution Remains of taxa that can be confidently assigned to Istiodactylidae have been found in the UK and China, in rocks dating from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian stage). Arbour and Currie (2011) described Canadian '' Gwawinapterus beardi'' as a member of Istiodactylidae living in the late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage); however, Witton (2012) suggested the tooth replacement pattern in this animal does not match that of pterosaurs, suggesting that the species might be non-pterosaurian. Additional research suggested that the species was in fact a fish. The earliest known species might be ''Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis'', from the Middle Jurassic of China; however, it also has been suggested that the holotype specimen of this species might actuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyctosauridae
Nyctosauridae (meaning "night lizards" or "bat lizards") is a family of specialized soaring pterosaurs of the late Cretaceous Period of North America, Africa, and possibly Europe. It was named in 1889 by Henry Alleyne Nicholson and Richard Lydekker.Nicholson, H.A. and Lydekker, R. (1889). ''A manual of palaeontology for the use of students: with a general introduction on the principles of palæontology, Volume II''. Blackwood, 1889. Nyctosaurids are characterized by their lack of all but the wing finger. In most pterosaurs, the hand has four fingers, with the fourth elongated to support the wing, and the remaining three are usually small, clawed, and used in walking or climbing. The lack of functional fingers in nyctosaurids may suggest that they spent almost all of their time in the air, rarely walking on the ground. Nyctosaurids also possessed a distinctively enlarged crest for muscle attachment on their upper arm bone, or humerus, the ''deltopectoral crest'', hatchet shaped li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontia
Pteranodontia is an extinct group of ornithocheiroid pterodactyloid pterosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (Coniacian to Maastrichtian stages) of North America and Africa. They were some of the most advanced pterosaurs, and possessed highly specialized cranial crests that may have served as sexual attraction, with males having a much larger crest. Classification Pteranodontia was originally named by Marsh in 1876. In 2003, it was given a phylogenetic definition by David Unwin as the common ancestor of ''Pteranodon'' and ''Nyctosaurus'' plus all its descendants. Though Marsh had originally named this group based on the shared absence of teeth in those species, most analyses show that all of the traditional "ornithocheiroid" pterosaurs are also members of this clade. Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic placement of this group from Andres and Myers (2013). In 2018, Longrich, Martill, and Andres revisited the classification, and made a different phylogen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other evolutionary narratives about ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hongshanopterus
''Hongshanopterus'' is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. The type species ''Hongshanopterus lacustris'' was in 2008 named and described by Wang Xiaolin, Diogenes de Almeida Campos, Zhou Zhonghe and Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner. The generic name combines a reference to the Hongshan culture in Lioaning with a Latinised Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name means "of the lake" in Latin, referring to the lake deposits the fossil was found in, at Dapinfang. ''Hongshanopterus'' is based on the holotype IVPP V14582, found in a layer of the Jiufotang Formation dating from the Aptian, It consists of a skull and five neck vertebrae of a single subadult individual. The wingspan of ''Hongshanopterus'' was estimated at 1.8 to 1.9 meters. It possessed a relatively high number of teeth, about thirty-six for both upper jaws combined. The teeth were robust and had triangular crowns which were flattened from mouth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwinopterus
''Darwinopterus'' (meaning "Darwin's wing") is a genus of pterosaur, discovered in China and named after biologist Charles Darwin. Between 30 and 40 fossil specimens have been identified, all collected from the Tiaojishan Formation, which dates to the middle Jurassic period, 160.89–160.25 Ma ago.Liu Y.-Q. Kuang H.-W., Jiang X.-J., Peng N., Xu H. & Sun H.-Y. (2012). "Timing of the earliest known feathered dinosaurs and transitional pterosaurs older than the Jehol Biota." ''Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology'' (advance online publication). The type species, type species, ''D. modularis'', was described in February 2010 in paleontology, 2010. ''D. modularis'' was the first known pterosaur to display features of both long-tailed (Rhamphorhynchoidea, rhamphorhynchoid) and short-tailed (Pterodactyloidea, pterodactyloid) pterosaurs, and was described as a transitional fossil between the two groups.Dell'Amore, C. (2009)"Odd New Pterosaur: 'Darwin's Wing' Fills Evolution Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeoistiodactylus Linglongtaensis
''Archaeoistiodactylus'' is an extinct genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. Discovery and naming ''Archaeoistiodactylus'' is known from an incomplete skeleton with a partial skull and lower jaws. Catalogued as holotype specimen JPM04-0008, it was recovered from rocks of the Tiaojishan Formation in western Liaoning, China, which date to the Bathonian-Callovian stages of the Jurassic period. Apart from the skull, it preserves ribs, parts of the wings, hindlimbs and the pelvis. The neck, tail and feet of the specimen are lacking. ''Archaeoistiodactylus'' was first named and described by Lü Junchang and Fucha Xiaohui in 2010. The type species is ''Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis''. The generic name is a combination of the Greek ''archaios'', "ancient", with the name of the genus ''Istiodactylus'', referring to ''Archaeoistiodactylus'' being presumed to have been an older close relative of the latter. The specific name refers to the provenance nea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian spans the time from 83.6 (± 0.2) to 72.1 (± 0.2) million years ago. It is preceded by the Santonian and it is followed by the Maastrichtian. The Campanian was an age when a worldwide sea level rise covered many coastal areas. The morphology of some of these areas has been preserved: it is an unconformity beneath a cover of marine sedimentary rocks. Etymology The Campanian was introduced in scientific literature by Henri Coquand in 1857. It is named after the French village of Champagne in the department of Charente-Maritime. The original type locality was a series of outcrop near the village of Aubeterre-sur-Dronne in the same region. Definition The base of the Campanian Stage is defined as a place in the stratigraphic column wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwawinapterus
''Gwawinapterus beardi'' is a species of saurodontid ichthyodectiform fish from the Late Cretaceous period of British Columbia, Canada. While initially described as a very late-surviving member of the pterosaur family Istiodactylidae, further examination has cast doubt on the identification of the specimen as a pterosaur, and research published in 2012 identified the remains as having come from a saurodontid fish. Description ''Gwawinapterus beardi'' is known from a single fossil specimen, consisting only of the front half of a skull (upper and lower jaws). The tip of the snout is rounded and deep with a height of about . The tip is about from the front edge of the largest skull opening, or ''fenestra''. Below this opening the upper jaw is about tall. The jaw was originally suggested to be a sutureless fusion of the premaxilla and maxilla of a reptile. Each upper jaw holds at least 26 teeth, eleven or twelve of them below the fenestra; the front of the tooth row has not been p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Arbour
Victoria Megan Arbour is a Canadian evolutionary biologist and vertebrate palaeontologist at Royal BC Museum, where she is Curator of Palaeontology. An "expert on the armoured dinosaurs known as ankylosaurs", Arbour analyzes fossils and creates 3-D computer models. She named the possible pterosaur '' Gwawinapterus'' from Hornby Island, and a partial ornithischian dinosaur from Sustut Basin, British Columbia (now named ''Ferrisaurus''), and has participated in the naming of the ankylosaurs ''Zuul'', ''Zaraapelta'', ''Crichtonpelta'', and ''Ziapelta''. Early life and education Born in 1983, Arbour is from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her mother, a math teacher, and father, a soil scientist, supported her science interests. Arbour completed a B.Sc. Honours Thesis supervised by Milton Graves, ''An ornithischian dinosaur from the Sustut Basin, British Columbia, Canada'', and graduated from Dalhousie University in 2006. She completed her master's thesis, ''Evolution, biomechanics, and func ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
