Alanqidae

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Alanqids
Temporal range: Cenomanian-Coniacian, 95–88  Ma
Jaws of Alanqa saharica.png
Holotype jaws of Alanqa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order:† Pterosauria
Suborder:† Pterodactyloidea
Clade:† Azhdarchoidea
Clade:† Azhdarchiformes
Family:† Alanqidae
Pêgas et al., 2022
Genera

Alanqidae is a group of azhdarchoid pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North Africa and South America. It is defined as all pterosaurs more closely related to Alanqa saharica than to Chaoyangopterus zhangi (a chaoyangopterid) or Azhdarcho lancicollis (an azhdarchid).

Contents

Description

Alanqids are united by their unique jaw anatomy that may have been used for probe feeding or a diet consisting of molluscs in riparian and coastal ecosystems. They are notable for surviving the Cenomanian-Turonian extinction that killed many forms of pterosaurs, though they did not survive to the end of the Cretaceous. [1] [2]

Classification

Named in 2022 to contain Alanqa and Keresdrakon , [1] the group has since been consistently recovered in both tapejarid [3] [4] and azhdarchid-focused [5] [6] [7] phylogenetic analyses of azhdarchoids to include Alanqa, Leptostomia , and Xericeps from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco and Argentinadraco from the Portezuelo Formation of Argentina. The results of a phylogenetic analysis in a 2025 study of azhdarchoid relationships by Henry Thomas and Skye McDavid are shown below. [2]

Azhdarchoidea

References

  1. 1 2 Pêgas RV, Holgado B, Ortiz David LD, Baiano MA, Costa FR (2022). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. 129 104998. Bibcode:2022CrRes.12904998P. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998. ISSN   0195-6671. S2CID   238725853.
  2. 1 2 Thomas, Henry N.; McDavid, Skye N. (5 Nov 2025). "Enter the dragons: the phylogeny of Azhdarchoidea (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) and the evolution of giant size in pterosaurs". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 23 (1) 2569368. doi:10.1080/14772019.2025.2569368 . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  3. ↑ Pêgas, R. V.; Zhoi, X.; Jin, X.; Wang, K.; Ma, W. (2023). "A taxonomic revision of the Sinopterus complex (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with the new genus Huaxiadraco". PeerJ. 11. e14829. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14829 . PMC   9922500 . PMID   36788812.
  4. ↑ Pêgas, Rodrigo V. (June 10, 2024). "A taxonomic note on the tapejarid pterosaurs from the Pterosaur Graveyard site (Caiuá Group, ?Early Cretaceous of Southern Brazil): evidence for the presence of two species". Historical Biology : 1–22. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2355664. ISSN   0891-2963.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Henry N.; Hone, David W. E.; Gomes, Timothy; Peterson, Joseph E. (2025-02-28). "Infernodrakon hastacollis gen. et sp. nov., a new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, and the pterosaur diversity of Maastrichtian North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 44 (4). e2442476. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2442476. ISSN   0272-4634.
  6. ↑ Zhou, Xuanyu; Ikegami, Naoki; Pêgas, Rodrigo V.; Yoshinaga, Toru; Sato, Takahiro; Mukunoki, Toshifumi; Otani, Jun; Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu (March 2025). "Reassessment of an azhdarchid pterosaur specimen from the Mifune Group, Upper Cretaceous of Japan" . Cretaceous Research . 167 106046. Bibcode:2025CrRes.16706046Z. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106046. ISSN   0195-6671.
  7. ↑ Giaretta, Ariovaldo A.; Navarro, Bruno A.; Marinho, Thiago S.; Pêgas, R. Vargas (September 2025). "The first pterosaur from the Bauru Group: an azhdarchid from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil". Papers in Palaeontology . 11 (5) e70039. doi: 10.1002/spp2.70039 . ISSN   2056-2799.
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