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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] |
Epapatelo
''Epapatelo'' (meaning "wing") is a genus of pteranodontian pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Mocuio Formation of Namibe Province, Angola. The genus contains a single species, ''E. otyikokolo'', known from partial left limb bones. Discovery and naming Since 2005, the Projecto PaleoAngola carried out excavations at Bentiaba. For the first time in history, remains of pterosaurs were found in Angola. The recovered fossils consist of fourteen specimens of at least eleven individuals. Two of these represent the new taxon ''Epapatelo''. In 2022, the type species ''Epapatelo otyikokolo'' was named and described by Alexandra E. Fernandes, Octávio Mateus, Brian Andres, Michael J. Polcyn, Anne S. Schulp, António Olímpio, Gonçalves and Louis L. Jacobs. The scientific name is derived from Nhaneca, the language of the local nomadic population. The generic name, ''Epapatelo'', means "wing", and the specific name, ''otyikokolo'', means "lizard". The holotype, MGUAN-PA650 was found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontid
The Pteranodontidae are a Family (biology), family of large pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head (most famously seen in ''Pteranodon'' itself). The spectacularly-crested ''Nyctosaurus'' is sometimes included in this family, though usually placed in its own family, the Nyctosauridae (Nicholson & Lydekker, 1889). Modern researchers differ in their use of the concept. S. Christopher Bennett and Alexander Kellner have concluded that ''Nyctosaurus'' was not a pteranodontid. In 1994 Bennett defined a clade Pteranodontidae, also including species of the Anhangueridae. However, this definition has not been accepted by other workers. Alexander Kellner, for example, named several additional species for specimens previously classified as ''Pteranodon'', and placed ''P. sternbergi'' in a distinct genus, ''Geosternbergia''. Kellne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodon Longiceps
''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] |
Nyctosaurid
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 l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontidae
The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head (most famously seen in ''Pteranodon'' itself). The spectacularly-crested ''Nyctosaurus'' is sometimes included in this family, though usually placed in its own family, the Nyctosauridae (Nicholson & Lydekker, 1889). Modern researchers differ in their use of the concept. S. Christopher Bennett and Alexander Kellner have concluded that ''Nyctosaurus'' was not a pteranodontid. In 1994 Bennett defined a clade Pteranodontidae, also including species of the Anhangueridae. However, this definition has not been accepted by other workers. Alexander Kellner, for example, named several additional species for specimens previously classified as ''Pteranodon'', and placed ''P. sternbergi'' in a distinct genus, ''Geosternbergia''. Kellner re-defined Ptera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alamodactylus
''Alamodactylus'' is an extinct genus of nyctosaurid pteranodontoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, southern United States. It contains a single species, ''Alamodactylus byrdi''. Discovery ''Alamodactylus'' is known solely from its holotype, SMU 76476, a partial left wing first described by Myers (2010).Myers, T.S., 2010, "Earliest occurrence of the Pteranodontidae (Archosauria: Pterosauria) in North America: New material from the Austin Group of Texas", ''Journal of Paleontology'' 84(6): 1071–1081 This specimen is crushed and consists of a left humerus, the distal end of the fourth wing metacarpal and the proximal end of the first wing phalanx of fourth digit. Other elements of the holotype first reported by Andres and Myers (2013) include a left proximal syncarpal, manual phalanx, and some fragments including four tapering processes that may represent skull bones, an articular surface that appears to be the mandible articulation of the right quadrate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodon Sternbergi
''Geosternbergia'' is an extinct genus of pteranodontid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America. ''Geosternbergia'' was one of the largest pterosaur genera, and had a wingspan of up to . Discovery and history The first fossils of ''Geosternbergia'' were collected by American paleontologist George F. Sternberg in 1952 from the lower portion of the Niobrara Formation. The fossils of the animal looked similar to those of the species ''Pteranodon longiceps'', but the crests were set upright and in a slightly different position. In 1958, Sternberg and paleontologist Myrl V. Walker published a study about this peculiar find. In 1966, American paleontologist John Christian Harksen assigned the specimens found as a new species of ''Pteranodon'' called ''P. sternbergi'' due to its distinct upright crest that set it apart from ''P. longiceps''. Halsey W. Miller however, concluded a revision of the different species of ''Pteranodon'' in 197 ... [...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] |
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] |
Ornithocheiroid
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 inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alamodactylus Byrdi
''Alamodactylus'' is an extinct genus of nyctosaurid pteranodontoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, southern United States. It contains a single species, ''Alamodactylus byrdi''. Discovery ''Alamodactylus'' is known solely from its holotype, SMU 76476, a partial left wing first described by Myers (2010).Myers, T.S., 2010, "Earliest occurrence of the Pteranodontidae (Archosauria: Pterosauria) in North America: New material from the Austin Group of Texas", ''Journal of Paleontology'' 84(6): 1071–1081 This specimen is crushed and consists of a left humerus, the distal end of the fourth wing metacarpal and the proximal end of the first wing phalanx of fourth digit. Other elements of the holotype first reported by Andres and Myers (2013) include a left proximal syncarpal, manual phalanx, and some fragments including four tapering processes that may represent skull bones, an articular surface that appears to be the mandible articulation of the right quadrate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. There were two major types of pterosaurs. Basal pterosaurs (also called 'non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs' or 'rhamphorhynchoids') were smaller animals with fully toothed jaws and, typically, long tails. Their wide wing membranes probably included and connected the hind legs. On the ground, they would have had an awkward sprawling posture, but the anatomy of their joints and strong claws would have made them effective climbers, and some may have even lived in trees. Basal pterosaurs were insectiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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