|
Rhamphorhynchine
Rhamphorhynchidae is a group of early pterosaurs named after '' Rhamphorhynchus'', that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Rhamphorhynchidae was named in 1870 by Harry Govier Seeley.Seeley, H.G. (1870). "The Orithosauria: An Elementary Study of the Bones of Pterodactyles." Cambridge, 135 p. Members of the group possess no more than 11 pairs of teeth in the rostrum, a deltopectoral crest that is constricted at the base but expanded at the distal end, and a bent phalange on the fifth toe. Rhamphorhynchidae traditionally contains two subfamilies: the Rhamphorhynchinae and the Scaphognathinae. While not recovered as distinct clades by all analyses, there do appear to be traits uniting members of each group. Rhamphorhynchines are more common, were lightly built, and had jaws ending in pointed tips that contained more teeth, which are often procumbent (pointed forward). Scaphognathines are comparatively quite rare, were more robust skeletally, and had shorter wing proportions. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parapsicephalus
''Parapsicephalus'' (meaning "beside arch head") is a genus of long-tailed rhamphorhynchid pterosaurs from the Lower Jurassic Whitby, Yorkshire, England. It contains a single species, ''P. purdoni'', named initially as a species of the related rhamphorhynchid ''Scaphognathus'' in 1888 but moved to its own genus in 1919 on account of a unique combination of characteristics. In particular, the top surface of the skull of ''Parapsicephalus'' is convex, which is otherwise only seen in dimorphodontians. This has been the basis of its referral to the Dimorphodontia by some researchers, but it is generally agreed upon that ''Parapsicephalus'' probably represents a rhamphorhynchid. Within the Rhamphorhynchidae, ''Parapsicephalus'' has been synonymized with the roughly contemporary ''Dorygnathus''; this, however, is not likely given the many differences between the two taxa, including the aforementioned convex top surface of the skull. ''Parapsicephalus'' has been tentatively referred to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dearc
''Dearc'' ( ) is a genus of large-bodied rhamphorhynchine pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic Lealt Shale Formation of Scotland. The holotype, a juvenile or subadult that was still actively growing, has an estimated wingspan of 2.5 to 3 meters, making it the largest flying animal of its time. This pushes the origin of large pterosaurs back significantly, as it was previously assumed that pterosaurs did not reach greater body sizes until the short-tailed pterodactyloid lineages of the Cretaceous. The genus contains a single species, ''Dearc sgiathanach'' ( ). Discovery and naming The holotype of ''Dearc'', NMS G.2021.6.1-4, was found in 2017 by Amelia Penny in the Lealt Shale Formation and consists of a three-dimensionally preserved skeleton preserved in articulation in a slab of limestone (separated into four pieces for preparation). The specimen preserves most of the body with the exception of the end of the tail, most of the hindlimbs, parts of the wing and the very tip of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angustinaripterus
''Angustinaripterus'' was a basal pterosaur, belonging to the breviquartossan family Rhamphorhynchidae (more specifically within the subfamily Rhamphorhynchinae) and discovered at Dashanpu near Zigong in the Sichuan province of China. Discovery and etymology ''Angustinaripterus'' was named in 1983 by He Xinlu. The type species is ''Angustinaripterus longicephalus''. The genus name is derived from Latin ''angustus'', "narrow" and ''naris'', "nostril", combined with Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name is derived from Latin ''longus'', "long", and Greek ''kephale'', "head". The holotype, ZDM T8001, is a single skull with lower jaws, found in 1981 by researchers from the Zigong Historical Museum of the Salt Industry, in the Xiashaximiao Formation (Bathonian). Description The skull of ''Angustinaripterus'', of which the left side is severely damaged, is very elongated and flat. The back part is missing; in its preserved state it has a length of ; the total le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qinglongopterus
''Qinglongopterus'' is a genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Middle/Upper Jurassic of Mutoudeng, Qinglong County, Hebei Province, China. ''Qinglongopterus'' is known from only one specimen; D3080/3081, a nearly complete skeleton collected from the Tiaojishan Formation. It was described by Lü Junchang ''et al.'' in 2012. The type species is ''Qinglongopterus guoi''. Description ''Qinglongopterus'' is noted to be remarkably similar to ''Rhamphorhynchus'', although ''Qinglongopterus'' has a proportionally smaller head and shorter wings. In the original description, the authors suggest ''Rhamphorhynchus'' may even be descended from ''Qinglongopterus'' due to the large number of shared characters between the two genera. ''Qinglongopterus'' appears approximately 10 million years earlier than ''Rhamphorhynchus,'' yet possesses many derived traits for the group. This may be evidence of evolutionary stasis within rhamphorhynchine pterosaurs. The holotype specimen has large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nesodactylus
''Nesodactylus'' was a genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the middle-late Oxfordian ageDe la Fuente, M. S., & Iturralde-Vinent, M. (2001). A new pleurodiran turtle from the Jagua Formation (Oxfordian) of western Cuba. Journal Information, 75(4). Upper Jurassic Jagua Formation of Pinar del Río, western Cuba. Its remains were collected but not prepared by Barnum Brown in 1918, from rocks better known for their fossils of marine life. When seven black chalkstone blocks were prepared from 1966 by Richard Lund by dissolving the substrate in acid, this revealed the remains of a pterosaur. Ned Colbert described and named the genus in 1969. The type species is ''Nesodactylus hesperius''. The genus name is derived from Greek ''nesos'', "island" and ''daktylos'', "finger", a reference to the island of Cuba and the typical wing finger of pterosaurs. The specific name means "western", from Greek ''hesperios''. The genus is based on holotype AMNH 2000, a partial skeleton including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sericipterus
''Sericipterus'' is an extinct genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur. It is known from the Late Jurassic (early Oxfordian age) Shishugou Formation in Xinjiang, China. Etymology The genus was named and described in 2010 by Brian Andres, James Matthew Clark and Xu Xing. The type species is ''Sericipterus wucaiwanensis''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''sericum'', "silk", a reference to the Silk Route, and from a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name refers to the Wucaiwan area, itself meaning "five-color bay" because of the many-colored layers. Description The holotype specimen, IVPP V14725, consists of partly crushed, disarticulated bones that are largely preserved three-dimensionally. The wingspan has been estimated to have been at least . The skull of ''Sericipterus'' is similar to those of the "rhamphorhynchoids" (i.e. basal pterosaurs) ''Angustinaripterus'' and ''Harpactognathus''. It had three bony crests: a low crest on the snout, a short low parie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fenghuangopterus
''Fenghuangopterus'' is a genus of basal pterosaur that lived in northeastern China during the Middle Jurassic. The type species ''Fenghuangopterus lii'' was in 2010 described and named by Lü Junchang ''et al.'' The generic name is derived from the Fenghuang Mountain and a Latinized Ancient Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name honors Li Xiumei, who donated the fossil. It is known from a single relatively complete, though badly crushed, fossil skeleton, holotype CYGB-0037, recovered from the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning Province, about 160 million years old. ''Fenghuangopterus'' is a member of the rhamphorhynchid subfamily Scaphognathinae, which had previously been known only from the Late Jurassic and includes the close relatives ''Scaphognathus'', ''Sordes'' and ''Harpactognathus''. Description ''Fenghuangopterus'' was similar to other scaphognathines in its short, blunt skull with a large antorbital fenestra, and widely spaced, vertically oriented teeth (as oppos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jianchangnathus
''Jianchangnathus'' is an extinct genus of basal pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of northeastern China. Naming ''Jianchangnathus'' was first described and named by Cheng Xin, Wang Xiaolin, Jiang Shunxing and Alexander W.A. Kellner in 2012 and the type species is ''Jianchangnathus robustus''. The generic name combines a reference to Jianchang County with a Greek γνάθος, ''gnathos'', "jaw". The specific name means "robust" in Latin. ''Jianchangnathus'' is known from a single fossil skeleton, holotype IVPP V16866, recovered near Linglongta, in Jianchang County. Description Autapomorphies of ''Jiangchangnathus'' include: a convex top margin of the lower jaw; a large front branch of the jugal; and the first three pairs of teeth of the lower jaws pointing strongly forwards. Its describers found it to share several features with ''Scaphognathus'', including a high front end of the lower jaws, a pear-shaped lower temporal fenestra with the broa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jianchangopterus
''Jianchangopterus'' is a genus of scaphognathine rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of western Liaoning, China. ''Jianchangopterus'' is known from a nearly complete skeleton with skull preserved. It was collected from the Tiaojishan Formation. It was first named (after Jianchang County) by Lü Junchang and Bo Xue in 2011 and the type species is ''Jianchangopterus zhaoianus''. See also * List of pterosaur genera * 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 w ... References Middle Jurassic pterosaurs of Asia Rhamphorhynchids Fossil taxa described in 2011 Taxa named by Lü Junchang Paleontology in Liaoning {{Pterosaur-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma (million years ago), and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic 174.1 Ma. Certain rocks of marine origin of this age in Europe are called "Lias Group, Lias" and that name was used for the period, as well, in 19th-century geology. In southern Germany rocks of this age are called Black Jurassic. Origin of the name Lias There are two possible origins for the name Lias: the first reason is it was taken by a geologist from an England, English quarryman's dialect pronunciation of the word "layers"; secondly, sloops from north Cornwall, Cornish ports such as Bude would sail across the Bristol Channel to the Vale of Glamorgan to load up with rock from coastal limestone quarries (lias limestone from S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scaphognathus
''Scaphognathus'' was a pterosaur that lived around Germany during the Late Jurassic. It had a wingspan of 0.9 m (3 ft). Naming The first known ''Scaphognathus'' specimen was described in 1831 by August Goldfuss who mistook the tailless specimen for a new ''Pterodactylus'' species: ''P. crassirostris''. The specific name means "fat snout" in Latin. This specimen was an incomplete adult with a 0.9 m (3 ft) wingspan recovered from the Solnhofen strata near Eichstätt. In 1858 Johann Wagner referred the species to ''Rhamphorhynchus''. After recognising the fundamentally different snout shape, Wagner, after previous failed attempts by Leopold Fitzinger and Christoph Gottfried Andreas Giebel, who used preoccupied names, in 1861 named a distinct genus: ''Scaphognathus'', derived from Greek ''skaphe'', "boat" or "tub", and ''gnathos'', "jaw", in reference to the blunt shape of the lower jaws. In the early twentieth century, the "rhamphorhynchoid" nature of ''S. c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
