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Nemicolopterus
''Nemicolopterus'' is a genus of tapejaromorph pterosaur, based on a very small specimen described as the smallest known "adult" pterosaur to date. It lived in the Jehol Biota 120 million years ago. Discovery and naming The generic name "Nemicolopterus" comes from the following Greek words: "Nemos" meaning "forest", "ikolos" meaning "dweller", and Latinised "pteron" meaning "wing". The specific name ''crypticus'' is from "kryptos", meaning "hidden". Thus "''Nemicolopterus crypticus''" means "Hidden flying forest dweller". Description The type fossil specimen of ''N. crypticus'', catalog number IVPP V-14377, is housed in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China. The fossil was collected from the Jiufotang Formation, which is of Aptian age (120 mya). It was discovered in the Luzhhouou locality of Yaolugou Town, Jianchang County, Huludao City, western Liaoning Province in northeastern China. It has a wingspan of sli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemicolopterus
''Nemicolopterus'' is a genus of tapejaromorph pterosaur, based on a very small specimen described as the smallest known "adult" pterosaur to date. It lived in the Jehol Biota 120 million years ago. Discovery and naming The generic name "Nemicolopterus" comes from the following Greek words: "Nemos" meaning "forest", "ikolos" meaning "dweller", and Latinised "pteron" meaning "wing". The specific name ''crypticus'' is from "kryptos", meaning "hidden". Thus "''Nemicolopterus crypticus''" means "Hidden flying forest dweller". Description The type fossil specimen of ''N. crypticus'', catalog number IVPP V-14377, is housed in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China. The fossil was collected from the Jiufotang Formation, which is of Aptian age (120 mya). It was discovered in the Luzhhouou locality of Yaolugou Town, Jianchang County, Huludao City, western Liaoning Province in northeastern China. It has a wingspan of sli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinopterus
''Sinopterus'' (meaning "Chinese wing") was a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. It was first described and named by Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zhonghe. Three species have been classified in this genus, though only two are generally considered to be valid. ''Sinopterus'' is known for its proportionally large skull, which has a birdlike pointed beak, a long bony crest that starts with a tall premaxilla and goes back along the middle of the skull to form a point overhanging the rear of the skull, and its lack of teeth. Description The type species, ''S. dongi'', is based on IVPP V13363, an articulated, nearly complete skeleton. The skull of this individual was 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) long, and the wingspan was estimated to be 1.2 meters (3.9 feet). The authors suggested that it was an omnivore, and noted that it was the first record of a tapejarid outside of Brazil, and the earlies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiufotang Formation
The Jiufotang Formation (Chinese: 九佛堂组, pinyin: ''jiǔfótáng zǔ'') is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms (see Jehol Biota). It is a member of the Jehol group. The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with estimates ranging from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. New uranium-lead dates reveal the formation is deposited in the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Fossils of ''Microraptor'' and ''Jeholornis'' are from the Jiufotang. Fossil content Choristoderans Fish Mammaliamorphs Several mammaliamorph specimens have been found from the Jiufotang, but only two have been formally described and named. Ornithischians Pterosaurs Saurischians A large titanosaur is present in the formation. Enantiornithines Euornithines Misc theropods See also * Yixian Formation * List of dinosaur-bearing rock for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timeline Of Pterosaur Research
This timeline of pterosaur research is a chronologically ordered list of important fossil discoveries, controversies of interpretation, and taxonomic revisions of pterosaurs, the famed flying reptiles of the Mesozoic era. Although pterosaurs went extinct millions of years before humans evolved, humans have coexisted with pterosaur fossils for millennia. Before the development of paleontology as a formal science, these remains would have been interpreted through a mythological lens. Myths about thunderbirds told by the Native Americans of the modern Western United States may have been influenced by observations of ''Pteranodon'' fossils. These thunderbirds were said to have warred with water monsters, which agrees well with the co-occurrence of ''Pteranodon'' and the ancient marine reptiles of the seaway over which it flew. The formal study of pterosaurs began in the late 18th century when naturalist Cosimo Alessandro Collini of Mannheim, Germany published a description of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Pterosaur Genera
This list of pterosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Pterosauria, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (''nomen dubium''), or were not formally published (''nomen nudum''), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered pterosaurian. The list currently includes 263 genera. Scope and terminology There is no official, canonical list of pterosaur genera, but the most thorough attempts can be found at the Pterosauria section of Mikko Haaramo's ''Phylogeny Archive'', the Genus Index at Mike Hanson's ''The Pterosauria'', supplemented by the Pterosaur Species List, and in the fourth supplement of Donald F. Glut's ''Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia'' series. Authors and year The authors column lists the authors of the formal description responsible for the erection of the genus listed. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapejaromorph
Tapejaromorpha is a group of pterosaurs within the clade Azhdarchoidea. The fossil remains of tapejaromorphs dated back to the Cretaceous period. The Tapejaromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues. They made Tapejaromorpha the most inclusive clade containing ''Tapejara'' but not ''Quetzalcoatlus''. Martill and Naish had previously proposed this same definition for Tapejaridae Tapejaridae (from a Tupi word meaning "the old being") are a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period. Members are currently known from Brazil, England, Hungary, Morocco, Spain, the United States, and China. The most primiti ..., but did not formalize it. Andres and colleagues instead defined Tapejaridae more narrowly, as the clade ''Tapejara'' + ''Sinopterus''. References {{pterosaur-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaur Size
Pterosaurs included the largest flying animals ever to have lived. They are a clade of prehistoric archosaurian reptiles closely related to dinosaurs. Species among pterosaurs occupied several types of environments, which ranged from aquatic to forested. Below are the lists that comprise the smallest and the largest pterosaurs known . Smallest pterosaurs The smallest known pterosaur is '' Nemicolopterus'' with a wingspan of about . The specimen found may be a juvenile or a subadult, however, and adults may have been larger. ''Anurognathus'' is another small pterosaur, with a wingspan of and in body mass. Pterosaurs with largest wingspan This is a list of pterosaurs with estimated maximum wingspan of more than 5 meters (16 feet): # '' Hatzegopteryx thambema'' #'' Quetzalcoatlus northopi'' # ''Cryodrakon boreas'' # Undescribed specimen from Mongolia # ''Arambourgiania philadelphiae'' # '' Thanatosdrakon amaru'' # ''Tropeognathus mesembrinus'' # ''Geosternbergia mais ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smallest Organisms
The smallest organisms found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of organism size, including volume, mass, height, length, or genome size. Given the incomplete nature of scientific knowledge, it is possible that the smallest organism is undiscovered. Furthermore, there is some debate over the definition of life, and what entities qualify as organisms; consequently the smallest known organism (microorganism) is debatable. Microorganisms Obligate endosymbiotic bacteria The genome of '' Nasuia deltocephalinicola'', a symbiont of the European pest leafhopper, '' Macrosteles quadripunctulatus'', consists of a circular chromosome of 112,031 base pairs. The genome of ''Nanoarchaeum equitans'' is 490,885 nucleotides long. ''Pelagibacter ubique'' ''Pelagibacter ubique'' is one of the smallest known free-living bacteria, with a length of and an average cell diameter of . They also have the smallest free-living bacterium genome: 1.3 Mbp, 1354 protein genes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaur Size
Pterosaurs included the largest flying animals ever to have lived. They are a clade of prehistoric archosaurian reptiles closely related to dinosaurs. Species among pterosaurs occupied several types of environments, which ranged from aquatic to forested. Below are the lists that comprise the smallest and the largest pterosaurs known . Smallest pterosaurs The smallest known pterosaur is '' Nemicolopterus'' with a wingspan of about . The specimen found may be a juvenile or a subadult, however, and adults may have been larger. ''Anurognathus'' is another small pterosaur, with a wingspan of and in body mass. Pterosaurs with largest wingspan This is a list of pterosaurs with estimated maximum wingspan of more than 5 meters (16 feet): # '' Hatzegopteryx thambema'' #'' Quetzalcoatlus northopi'' # ''Cryodrakon boreas'' # Undescribed specimen from Mongolia # ''Arambourgiania philadelphiae'' # '' Thanatosdrakon amaru'' # ''Tropeognathus mesembrinus'' # ''Geosternbergia mais ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huaxiadraco
''Huaxiadraco'' (meaning "Hua Xia hinadragon") is a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. It is the third valid genus of tapejarid from the Jehol Biota, after ''Sinopterus'' and ''Eopteranodon''. It contains one species, ''Huaxiadraco corollatus'', originally assigned to the defunct genus ''Huaxiapterus''. History of discovery ''Huaxiadraco'' is based on the holotype ZMNH M8131, a nearly complete skeleton. It was originally assigned to the genus ''Huaxiapterus'' by Lü Junchang and colleagues in 2006, under the binomial name ''Huaxiapterus corollatus''. Lü ''et al.'' also named another species, ''Huaxiapterus benxiensis'', a year later. However, analyses have since found that these species are only distantly related to ''Huaxiapterus jii'', the type species of ''Huaxiapterus'', and thus require a new genus name. A 2023 review of Chinese tapejarids by Pêgas ''et al.'' have confirmed ... [...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] |
Precocial
In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. These categories form a continuum, without distinct gaps between them. Altriciality Etymology The word is derived from the Latin root ''alere'', meaning "to nurse, to rear, or to nourish" and indicates the need for young to be fed and taken care of for a long duration. By contrast, species whose young are immediately or quickly mobile are called ''precocial''. Precociality Etymology The word "precocial" is derived from the same root as ''precocious'', implying early maturity in both cases. Superprecociality Extremely precocial species are called "superprecocial". Examples are the megapode birds, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
