Anhangueridae

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Anhanguerids
Temporal range: Early-Late Cretaceous, 140–92.5  Ma
Anhanguera skeleton white background.JPG
Anhanguera santanae skeleton
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Clade: Anhangueria
Family: Anhangueridae
Campos & Kellner 1985
Type species
Anhanguera blittersdorffi
Campos & Kellner, 1985
Subgroups

Anhangueridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. [2] They were among the last pterosaurs to possess teeth. A recent study discussing the group considered the Anhangueridae to be typified by a premaxillary crest and a lateral expansion in the distal rostrum. The same study presented a cladistic analysis, for which an "agreement subtree" was calculated. The Anhangueridae was found to be sister taxon to the large crested Tropeognathus . [3]

Relationships

There are competing theories of ornithocheiromorph phylogeny (evolutionary relationships). Below is cladogram following a topology recovered by Brian Andres, using the most recent iteration of his data set. [4]

Anhangueridae

The cladogram below follows Pêgas et al. (2019), who recovered Anhangueridae as a much more inclusive group. The analysis found most of the ornithocheirids falling into this family, while Ornithocheirus itself was recovered as a basal member of Ornithocheirae. [5]

Anhangueria

The clagogram below is reproduced from Richards et al., (2023), who based their data matrix on the data matrix in Holgado and Pêgas, (2020). In the paper they erect the clade Mythungini which comprises all Australian tropeognathines. [6]

Anhangueridae

Related Research Articles

<i>Cearadactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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.

<i>Tropeognathus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Tropeognathus is a genus of large pterosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of South America. This genus is considered to be a member of the family Anhangueridae, however, several studies have also recovered it within another family called Ornithocheiridae. Both of these families are diverse groups of pterosaurs known for their keel-tipped snouts and large size. Tropeognathus is regarded as the largest pterosaur found in the Southern Hemisphere, only rivaled by the huge azhdarchids. The type and only species is Tropeognathus mesembrinus. Fossil remains of Tropeognathus have been recovered from the Romualdo Formation, which is a Lagerstätte located in the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil.

<i>Coloborhynchus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Coloborhynchus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur belonging to the family Anhangueridae, though it has also been recovered as a member of the Ornithocheiridae in some studies. Coloborhynchus is known from the Lower Cretaceous of England, and depending on which species are included, possibly the Albian and Cenomanian ages as well. Coloborhynchus was once thought to be the largest known toothed pterosaur, however, a specimen of the closely related Tropeognathus is now thought to have had a larger wingspan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonchodectidae</span> Family of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Lonchodectidae or Lonchodraconidae is a group of pterosaurs within the clade Pterodactyloidea. It has variously been considered to be within Ctenochasmatoidea, Azhdarchoidea and Pteranodontia. They are notable for their high, conical tooth sockets and raised alveolar margins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azhdarchoidea</span> Superfamily of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs

Azhdarchoidea is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea, more specifically within the group Ornithocheiroidea. Pterosaurs belonging to this group lived throughout the Early and Late Cretaceous periods, with one tentative member, Tendaguripterus, that lived in the Late Jurassic period. The largest azhdarchoids include members of the family Azhdarchidae, examples of these are Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx, and Arambourgiania. The Azhdarchoidea has been recovered as either closely related to the Ctenochasmatoidea, as the sister taxon of the Pteranodontoidea within the Ornithocheiroidea, or within the Tapejaroidea, which in turn was also within the Ornithocheiroidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiridae</span> Family of ornithocheiran pterosaurs

Ornithocheiridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. These pterosaurs were among the last to possess teeth. Members that belong to this group lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 90 million years ago.

Hongshanopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China.

<i>Uktenadactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Uktenadactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Paw Paw Formation of Texas, United States and the Wessex Formation on the Isle of Wight, England. Fossil remains of Uktenadactylus dated back to the Early Cretaceous period, from about 125 to 100 million years ago.

<i>Aussiedraco</i> Genus of targaryendraconian pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Aussiedraco is a genus of targaryendraconian pterodactyloid pterosaur from the early Cretaceous of Australia.

<i>Guidraco</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period

Guidraco is an extinct genus of toothed pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, northeast China. According to many recent studies, Guidraco is a member of the group Anhanguerinae, a subfamily belonging to the larger group Anhangueridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheirae</span> Clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Ornithocheirae is an extinct clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous to the Late Cretaceous of Asia, Europe, North America and South America. It was named by Harry Seeley in 1870 as a family that contains Ornithocheirus and its relatives. The name was emended to Ornithocheiridae, to match the requirements of the ICZN Code that a family-ranked clade should end with an -idae suffix. Brian Andres (2010) in his review of pterosaur phylogeny, defined the name Ornithocheirae phylogenetically, as a node-based taxon consisting of the last common ancestor of Anhanguera and Ornithocheirus and all its descendants. Thus Ornithocheirae is defined to include two families, the Anhangueridae and the Ornithocheiridae, following the opinion of Alexander Kellner and Andres that these families should not be synonymized based on their original phylogenetical definitions. However, subsequent studies in 2019 have found Ornithocheirae to be a more inclusive group containing both Anhangueria and Targaryendraconia.

<i>Lonchodraco</i> Genus of lonchodraconid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Lonchodraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern England. The genus includes species that were previously assigned to other genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anhangueria</span> Clade of ornithocheiran pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Anhangueria is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Pteranodontoidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Anhangueria was named by paleontologists Taissa Rodrigues and Alexander Kellner in a review of Ornithocheirus species in 2013, they defined the clade as a branch-based taxon consisting of all pteranodontoids more closely related to Anhanguera blittersdorffi than to Istiodactylus latidens and Cimoliopterus cuvieri.

<i>Maaradactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapejaroidea</span> Clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs

Tapejaroidea is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Ornithocheiroidea. Tapejaroids lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, with one possible member, Tendaguripterus, extending the fossil range to the Late Jurassic period. Tapejaroidea contains two groups, the Dsungaripteridae and the Azhdarchoidea, which in turn includes the azhdarchids, the group that contains some of the largest flying animals. The group was named by Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiromorpha</span> Clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Ornithocheiromorpha is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Ornithocheiromorphs were discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera were recovered in Europe, Asia and South America. They were the most diverse and successful pterosaurs during the Early Cretaceous, but throughout the Late Cretaceous they were replaced by better adapted and more advanced pterosaur species such the pteranodontids and azhdarchoids. The Ornithocheiromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues, and they made Ornithocheiromorpha the most inclusive clade containing Ornithocheirus, but not Pteranodon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Targaryendraconia</span> Clade of ornithocheiran pterosaurs

Targaryendraconia is an extinct clade of lanceodontian pterosaurs that lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous period in Europe, North America, South America, and Australia.

<i>Targaryendraco</i> Genus of targaryendraconian pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Targaryendraco is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Hannover, northern Germany. Fossil remains of Targaryendraco dated back about 132 million years ago.

<i>Nicorhynchus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Nicorhynchus is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period. It contains two species, the type species, N. capito, from the Cambridge Greensand of England, and N. fluviferox from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco. These species were previously assigned to Coloborhynchus.

<i>Aerodraco</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Aerodraco is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Albian–Cenomanian-age Cambridge Greensand of England. It contains only one species, Aerodraco sedgwickii. It was originally assigned to the genus Pterodactylus.

References

  1. Renan A. M. Bantim; Antônio A. F. Saraiva; Gustavo R. Oliveira; Juliana M. Sayão (2014). "A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil". Zootaxa. 3869 (3): 201–223. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.1. PMID   25283914.
  2. Campos, D. A. & Kellner, Alexander W. A. (1985). "Panorama of the flying reptiles study in Brazil and South America". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 57: 453–466.
  3. Rodrigues, Taissa & Kellner, Alexander W. A. (2013). "Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England". ZooKeys (308): 1–112. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.308.5559 . PMC   3689139 . PMID   23794925.
  4. Andres, B. (2021). "Phylogenetic systematics of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41: 203–217. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2020.1801703 . S2CID   245078533.
  5. Pêgas, Rodrigo V.; Holgado, Borja & Leal, Maria Eduarda C. (2019). "On Targaryendraco wiedenrothi gen. nov. (Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontoidea, Lanceodontia) and recognition of a new cosmopolitan lineage of Cretaceous toothed pterodactyloids". Historical Biology. 33 (8): 1266-1280. doi:10.1080/08912963.2019.1690482. S2CID   209595986.
  6. Richards, Timothy; Stumkat, Paul; Salisbury, Steven (6 October 2023). "A second specimen of the pterosaur Thapunngaka shawi from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Toolebuc Formation of North West Queensland, Australia". Cretaceous Research. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105740 . Retrieved 7 October 2023.