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Pterodactylidae
Pterodactylidae is a controversial group of pterosaurs. During the 2000s and 2010s, several competing definitions for the various Jurassic pterodactyloid groups were proposed. Pereda-Suberbiola ''et al.'' (2012) used Fabien Knoll's (2000) definition of the name Pterodactylidae. Knoll had defined Pterodactylidae as a clade containing "''Pterodactylus antiquus'', ''Ctenochasma elegans'', their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants". Using this definition with the analysis conducted by Pereda-Suberbiola ''et al.'' (2012) meant that Ctenochasmatoidea was nested inside Pterodactylidae. Classification Below is the majority-rule consensus tree found by Pereda-Suberbiola ''et al.'' (2012), showing their preferred definitions of Pterodactylidae and Ctenochasmatoidea. Other researchers, such as David Unwin, have traditionally defined Pterodactylidae in such a way to ensure it is nested within Ctenochasmatoidea instead. In 2003, Unwin defined the same clade (''Pterodactylus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euctenochasmatia
Euctenochasmatia is an extinct group of pterodactyloid pterosaurs. It was named by David Unwin in 2003 as the group that contains the most recent common ancestor of ''Pterodactylus'' and ''Ctenochasma'', and all their descendants. Euctenochasmatians were specialized pterosaurs that had elongated necks as well as specialized teeth. A peculiar family within this group is the Ctenochasmatidae, which most of the members had very distinguishing teeth that were lined within their elongated snouts. A genus called ''Pterofiltrus'' only had 112 teeth, but these teeth cover about 55.8% of the total skull, and the skull itself measured about in length. Description Euctenochasmatians had very distinctive features in comparison to other pterosaurs, including the shape of their jaws, as well as their highly specialized teeth. These teeth are thought to have been used for filter-feeding, the genus ''Pterodaustro'' for example, had a long snout and its lower jaws curve strongly upwards, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cycnorhamphus
''Cycnorhamphus'' (meaning "swan beak") is a genus of gallodactylid ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic period of France and Germany, about 152 million years ago. It is probably synonymous with the genus ''Gallodactylus''. History In 1855, a fossil in a plate of shale from the Kimmeridgian, found near Nusplingen in Württemberg, holotype GPIT "Orig. Quenstedt 1855, Taf. 1" or GPIT 80, was named ''Pterodactylus Suevicus'' by Friedrich August Quenstedt. The specific name refers to the tribal area of Suevia. Quenstedt had earlier mentioned the find in a letter to Professor Heinrich Georg Bronn, which was published in 1854. In it he used the name ''Pterodactylus Württembergicus''. In 1855 and 1858, Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer adopted this older species name but it would be forgotten afterwards. The publication in 1854 was not meant to be a nomenclatural act. According to Peter Wellnhofer, ''Pterodactylus württembergicus'' should be considered a ''nomen oblitum' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterodaustro
''Pterodaustro'' is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from South America. Its fossil remains dated back to the Early Cretaceous period, about 105 million years ago. The most distinctive characteristic that separates ''Pterodaustro'' from other ctenochasmatids is its bristle-like teeth, a feature not seen in any other pterosaur. Discovery and naming The first fossils, among them the holotype PVL 2571, a thigh bone, were in the late sixties discovered by Bonaparte in the Lagarcito Formation, situated in the San Luis Province of Argentina, and dating from the Albian. The genus has later also been found in Chile in the Santa Ana Formation. At the Argentine site, the just large "Loma del ''Pterodaustro''", since then, during several expeditions, over 750 ''Pterodaustro'' specimens have been collected, 288 of them having been catalogued until 2008. This makes the species one of the best known pterosaurs, with examples from all growth stages, from egg to adult. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prejanopterus
''Prejanopterus'' is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous (lower Aptian age) layers of the Leza Formation of La Rioja, Spain. Discovery and naming In 1980 a fossil site was discovered near Yacimiento de Fuente Amarga on the western slopes of the Peña Isasa. In 1993 and 1994 ten fossiliferous blocks were recovered, containing numerous disarticulated fossil bones and bone fragments, among them those of a pterosaur. The type species ''Prejanopterus curvirostra'' was named and described in 2010 by Carolina Fuentes Vidarte and Manuel Meijide Calvo. The generic name is derived from the village of Préjano and a Latinised Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name is derived from Latin ''curvus'', "bent", and ''rostrum'', "snout", a reference to the distinctive bend to the left which was claimed to be present in all fossils of the snout. A later study indicates that "there is no genuine sideways bend" of the snout, "but a slight dorsal curvature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterodactylus Antiquus
''Pterodactylus'' (from Greek () meaning 'winged finger') is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile. Fossil remains of ''Pterodactylus'' have primarily been found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, which dates from the Late Jurassic period (early Tithonian stage), about 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago. More fragmentary remains of ''Pterodactylus'' have tentatively been identified from elsewhere in Europe and in Africa. ''Pterodactylus'' was a generalist carnivore that probably fed on a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. Like all pterosaurs, ''Pterodactylus'' had wings formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. ''Pterodactylus'' was a small pterosaur compared to other famou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eosipterus
''Eosipterus'' is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Liaoning, China. Fossil remains of ''Eosipterus'' dated back to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, 124.6 million years ago. History and etymology The genus was named in 1997 by Ji Shu'an and Ji Qiang. The type species is ''Eosipterus yangi''. The genus name is derived from Greek ''eos'', "dawn" and Greek ''pteron'', "wing" with a Latin ending; and a grammar error: normally the combination would have resulted in "eopterus". The "dawn" element refers to its age but also to China being "in the east". The specific name honours paleontologist Yang Daihuan. The genus is based on the holotype specimen, GMV2117, found near Jinggangshan in western Liaoning Province, in the Yixian Formation. It was the first pterosaur discovered in that region. It consists of a partial crushed skeleton of a subadult individual on a slab, lacking skull and neck. Most vertebrae have been severely dama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterodactylus
''Pterodactylus'' (from Greek () meaning 'winged finger') is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile. Fossil remains of ''Pterodactylus'' have primarily been found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, which dates from the Late Jurassic period (early Tithonian stage), about 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago. More fragmentary remains of ''Pterodactylus'' have tentatively been identified from elsewhere in Europe and in Africa. ''Pterodactylus'' was a generalist carnivore that probably fed on a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. Like all pterosaurs, ''Pterodactylus'' had wings formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. ''Pterodactylus'' was a small pterosaur compared to other famo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gegepterus
''Gegepterus'' is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Only one species is known, ''G. changi''. History and etymology The genus was named in 2007 by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Kellner, Zhou Zhonge and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The type species is ''Gegepterus changi''. The generic name is derived from Manchu ''ge ge'', the title of a princess, in reference to the dainty gracility of the specimen, and a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name honors female paleontologist Chang Meemann, who over the years established a cordial relationship between the Chinese and Brazilian authors. In 2008 Wang emended the epithet to ''changae'', but such changes are no longer allowed by the ICZN. It is known from two specimens. The first is holotype IVPP V 11981, which was in 2001 found in grey shales from the lower part of the formation (estimated at 125 million years old), near the city of B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardeadactylus
''Ardeadactylus'' (from ''Ardea'' – meaning "heron", and also a name of a genus of herons – and ''dactylus'', meaning "finger") is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatoid pterosaur known from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, southern Germany. It contains a single species, ''Ardeadactylus longicollum'', which was originally thought to be a species of ''Pterodactylus'', as ''P. longicollum''. History Only two specimens of ''Ardeadactylus'' are known to exist currently: SMNS 56603 (earlier SMNS 5802) found in 1874, a specimen from Nusplingen initially thought to belong to the species '' Pterodactylus suevicus'' (currently ''Cycnorhamphus''), and the neotype of the species, JME-SOS 2428, a specimen held at Jura Museum in Eichstätt. Other known specimens, including the holotype designated by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer when he named the type species ''Pterodactylus longicollum'' in 1854,Meyer, C.E.H. von, 1854, "Mittheilungen an Professor Bronn: Anthracotheri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnathosaurus
''Gnathosaurus'' (meaning "jawed lizard") is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur containing two species: ''G. subulatus'', named in 1833 from the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, and ''G. macrurus'', known from the Purbeck Limestone of the UK. Its fossil remains dated back to the Late Jurassic period. History of discovery Fragments of ''Gnathosaurus'' jaws were first discovered in 1832 in the Solnhofen limestones of southern Germany but were mistaken for a piece of teleosaurid crocodile jaw by Georg zu Münster, who first named the species ''Crocodilus multidens'' in that year. Soon afterwards, Hermann von Meyer classified the same specimen as the new genus and species ''Gnathosaurus subulatus'', a name which came to be universally used shortly thereafter. In the 1860s, scientists such as Albert Oppel compared the ''G. subulatus'' jaw fragment to contemporary pterosaurs such as ''Pterodactylus'' and ''Ctenochasma'', and concluded that it was also probably a "flying reptile" rathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cearadactylus
''Cearadactylus'' is a genus of large anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, South America. Fossil remains of ''Cearadactylus'' dated back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 112 million years ago. The only known species is ''C. atrox'', described and named in 1985 by Giuseppe Leonardi and Guido Borgomanero. The name refers to the Brazilian state Ceará, and combines this with Greek ''daktylos'', "finger", a reference to the wing finger of pterosaurs. The Latin ''atrox'' means "frightful", a reference to the fearsome dentition of the species. Discovery The holotype of ''Cearadactylus'' is MN 7019-V (formerly CB-PV-F-O93), which was discovered in the Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in the Araripe plateau of northeastern Brazil. It consists of a single skull with a length of .Leonardi, G. & Borgomanero, G. (1985). "''Cearadactylus atrox'' nov. gen., nov. sp.: novo Pterosauria (Pterodactyloidea) da Chapada do Ararip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, ''Malm'' was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units. Subdivisions The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock: Paleogeography During the Late Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the spawning of the Atlantic Ocean. However, at this time, the Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow. Life forms of the epoch This epoch is well known for many famous types of dinosau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
