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Moganopterus Zhuiana
''Moganopterus'' is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province, China. Discovery and naming The fossil of ''Moganopterus'' was discovered at the village of Xiaosanjiazi near the town of Lamadong in Liaoning Province. In 2012 it was named and described by Lü Junchang, Pu Hanyong, Xu Li, Wu Yanhua and Wei Xuefang as the type species ''Moganopterus zhuiana''. The generic name is derived from the legendary sword couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, in reference to the blade-like jaws, and a Latinized Greek πτερόν, ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name honors Ms. Zhu Haifen, who made the specimen available to science. The holotype, 41HIII0419, was uncovered in a layer of the Yixian Formation, dating from the Aptian, about 125 million years old. It consists of an almost complete skull with lower jaws and the second to fourth neck vertebrae. The fossil is compressed on a slab and counterslab, the splitting of the two plat ... [...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] |
Yixian Formation
The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its exquisitely preserved fossils, and is mainly composed of basalts interspersed with siliciclastic sediments. History Japanese occupation The potential importance of the Yixian Formation was initially recognized during the time the Empire of Japan occupied China's Rehe ("Jehol") Province after the First battle of Hopei in 1933. Many Japanese scientists had noticed fossil remains of extinct fish and reptiles, possibly the champsosaurs. These initial fossil discoveries made by Japanese scientists vanished once World War II ended in 1945. Chinese rediscovery By 1949, when administration of the area passed to the Chinese Communist Party and its leader Mao Zedong, the fossils of Yixian were studied only by Chinese scientists. It was not unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhenyuanopterus
''Zhenyuanopterus'' is a genus of boreopterid pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous (early Aptian stage) Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It contains one species, ''Zhenyuanopterus longirostris'', which was first described and named by Lü Junchang. Discovery and naming ''Zhenyuanopterus longirostris'' was named by paleontologist Lü Junchang in 2005. The genus is named after Sun Zhenyuan, who gave Lü Junchang the fossils along with Zi Fan. The specific name ("long-snouted") refers to the long snout of the pterosaur. One specimen is known; a complete skeleton, it was found in the Huangbanjigou locality of the Yixian Formation, and it is catalogued as GLGMV 0001 in the Guilin Longshan Geological Museum in Guangxi, China. A second, larger partial specimen, consisting of the rear half of the body, was found at the same locality and catalogued as XHPM1088 at the Dalian Xinghai Paleontological Museum. In 2014, Teng Fangfang and colleagues described it. Description T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boreopterus
''Boreopterus'' is a genus of boreopterid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Dalian, Liaoning, China. Etymology ''Boreopterus'' was named in 2005 by Lü Junchang and Ji Qiang. The type species is ''Boreopterus cuiae''. The genus name is derived from Greek ''boreios'', "northern" and ''pteron'', "wing". The specific epithet honors Cui Xu. Description ''Boreopterus'' is based on holotype JZMP-04-07-3, a nearly complete but crushed skeleton and skull. The skull is 235 millimeters long (9.25 inches), low and elongated with a rounded tip. Its wingspan is estimated to have been around 1.45 meters (4.76 feet). Its teeth, especially the anterior nine pairs, are quite large, forming a mesh of sharp teeth at the front of the mouth; the third and fourth teeth from the front are the largest. There are at least 27 teeth in each side of both the upper and lower jaws, which is a large amount. Classification Lü and Ji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boreopterinae
Boreopteridae (meaning "northern wings") is a group of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Classification In 2006, Lü Junchang and colleagues named the clade Boreopteridae for the clade containing the common ancestor of ''Boreopterus'' and ''Feilongus'' and all its descendants, which the authors reclassified as close relatives of the ornithocheirids. (''Feilongus'' had originally been considered a gallodactylid). Many possible boreopterids were subsequently described, one possible example being ''Aetodactylus'', which has been claimed to be similar to ''Boreopterus''. Originally considered close relatives of the ornithocheirids, many of these supposed boreopterids have been found to belong to other groups of the pterodactyloid lineage. In 2012, a phylogenetic analysis by Lü ''et al.'' divided the Boreopteridae into two subfamilies: Boreopterinae, comprising ''Boreopterus'' and ''Zhenyuanopterus'', and Moganopter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithocheiroidea
Ornithocheiroidea (or ornithocheiroids) is a group of pterosaurs within the extinct suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were typically large pterosaurs that lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods (Valanginian to Maastrichtian stages), with fossil remains found all over the world except Antarctica. Ornithocheiroids were the most advanced group of pterosaurs, as the group includes the clade Azhdarchoidea, of which its members lived until the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago. Notable pterosaurs from this group include the pteranodontians ''Pteranodon'' and ''Nyctosaurus'', the ornithocheirid ''Ornithocheirus'', the anhanguerid ''Tropeognathus'', as well as the azhdarchids ''Hatzegopteryx'' and ''Quetzalcoatlus''. Classification The name Ornithocheiroidea was originally defined as an apomorphy-based taxon by Christopher Bennett in 1994. It was given a relationship-based definition in 2003 by Alexander Kellner, who defined it as the least in ... [...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] |
Feilongus
''Feilongus'' is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian–Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao, Liaoning, China. Discovery and naming The genus was named and described in 2005 by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Kellner, Zhou Zhonghe and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The type species is ''Feilongus youngi''. The genus name is derived from ''Feilong'', the "flying dragon". The specific name honors the Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian (C. C. Young). ''Feilongus'' is based on holotype IVPP V-12539, a skull and articulated mandible, with on the same plate the detached posterior braincase, of a subadult individual. The fossil is strongly crushed. In 2014, a second specimen, DNMHM D3068 found at Gonggao, was referred to a ''Feilongus'' sp. It consists of a skull with lower jaws and four neck vertebrae. It was a possible subadult or, despite a smaller size, adult. Description The wingspan of ''Feilongus'' was estimated by Wang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same taxonomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moganopterinae
Ctenochasmatidae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They are characterized by their distinctive teeth, which are thought to have been used for filter-feeding. Ctenochasmatids lived from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous periods. The earliest known ctenochasmatid remains date to the Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian age. Previously, a fossil jaw recovered from the Middle Jurassic Stonesfield Slate formation in the United Kingdom, was considered the oldest known. This specimen supposedly represented a member of the family Ctenochasmatidae,Buffetaut, E. and Jeffrey, P. (2012). "A ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Stonesfield Slate (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire, England." ''Geological Magazine'', (advance online publication) though further examination suggested it actually belonged to a teleosaurid stem-crocodilian instead of a pterosaur. Classification Below is cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boreopteridae
Boreopteridae (meaning "northern wings") is a group of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Classification In 2006, Lü Junchang and colleagues named the clade Boreopteridae for the clade containing the common ancestor of ''Boreopterus'' and ''Feilongus'' and all its descendants, which the authors reclassified as close relatives of the ornithocheirids. (''Feilongus'' had originally been considered a gallodactylid). Many possible boreopterids were subsequently described, one possible example being ''Aetodactylus'', which has been claimed to be similar to ''Boreopterus''. Originally considered close relatives of the ornithocheirids, many of these supposed boreopterids have been found to belong to other groups of the pterodactyloid lineage. In 2012, a phylogenetic analysis by Lü ''et al.'' divided the Boreopteridae into two subfamilies: Boreopterinae, comprising ''Boreopterus'' and ''Zhenyuanopterus'', and Moganopterina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodon
''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama. More fossil specimens of ''Pteranodon'' have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway. ''Pteranodon'' was not a dinosaur. By definition, all dinosaurs belong to the group Dinosauria; ''Pteranodon'' belongs to the group Pterosauria. Nonetheless, ''Pteranodon'' is the most famous pterosaur, frequently featured in dinosaur media and strongly associated with dinosaurs by the general public. While not dinosaurs, pterosaurs such as ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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