| Gegepterus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | † Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | † Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | † Ctenochasmatidae |
| Tribe: | † Pterodaustrini |
| Genus: | † Gegepterus Wang et al., 2007 |
| Type species | |
| †Gegepterus changi Wang et al., 2007 | |
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.
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. [1] In 2008 Wang emended the epithet to changae, [2] 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 Beipiao. It consists of a crushed and damaged partial skeleton of a subadult including skull, lower jaws, cervical and sacral vertebrae, ribs, gastralia ("belly ribs"), shoulder girdle and hindlimb remains, along with dark soft tissue remains near the skull and gastralia and in the orbit; unfortunately, the soft tissue remains show no structure except for some small, unbranched fibers at the back of the head. The jaws are very elongated; the snout is flat and concave on top, with a low and thin crest. The forehead slightly projects to the front. The cervicals are elongated. [1]
In 2011, a second, smaller specimen was described, IVPP V 11972, which increased the known skeletal elements and showed a more extensive covering of hair-like structures. [3]
The authors assigned Gegepterus to the Ctenochasmatidae, on the basis of its long rostrum and numerous needle-like teeth, about 150 in total. This is the first uncontroversial report of the Ctenochasmatidae from the Yixian Formation, as the fossils of other assumed ctenochasmatids have not preserved the dentition. It was at first suspected to be the juvenile of some known species. [1]
Below is cladogram following a topology by Andres, Clark and Xu (2014). In the analysis, they recovered Gegepterus within the family Ctenochasmatidae, more precisely within the tribe Pterodaustrini, sister taxon to Beipiaopterus . [4]
| Ctenochasmatidae |
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Jeholopterus was a small anurognathid pterosaur from the Middle to Late Jurassic Daohugou Beds of the Tiaojishan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, preserved with hair-like pycnofibres and skin remains.
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, 125 million years ago.
Beipiaopterus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of the China.
Dendrorhynchoides was a genus of anurognathid pterosaur containing only the holotype species D. curvidentatus that is known from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Qinglong, northern Hebei Province, China.
Feilongus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian–Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao, Liaoning, China.
Huanhepterus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now Qingyang, Gansu, China.
Liaoxipterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. The type species is Liaoxipterus brachyognathus. The genus name is derived from the discovery locality Liaoxi and a Latinised Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name is derived from Greek brachys, "short" and gnathos, "jaw".
Sinopterus is a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. It was first described and named by Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zhonghe. Historically, there were multiple species attributed to the genus although only one is considered to be valid. Sinopterus is known for its proportionally large skull, which has a birdlike pointed beak, a long bony crest that starts with a tall premaxilla and goes back along the middle of the skull to form a point overhanging the rear of the skull, and its lack of teeth.
Nurhachius is a genus of istiodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian to Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. Its fossil remains date back about 120 million years ago.
Liaoningopterus, sometimes misspelled as "Liaoningopteryx", was a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.
Elanodactylus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.
Zhenyuanopterus is a genus of boreopterid pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It contains one species, Zhenyuanopterus longirostris, which was first described and named by Lü Junchang.
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.
Pterofiltrus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China.
Moganopterus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province, China.
Chuanqilong is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now the Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Chuanqilong chaoyangensis, is known from a nearly complete skeleton with a skull of a juvenile individual. It was described in 2014 by Fenglu Han, Wenjie Zheng, Dongyu Hu, Xing Xu, and Paul M. Barrett. Chuanqilong shows many similarities with Liaoningosaurus and may represent a later ontogenetic stage of the taxon.
Forfexopterus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in China. It contains a single species, F. jeholensis, named from a mostly complete skeleton by Shunxing Jiang and colleagues in 2016. A second specimen, consisting of a wing, was described in 2020. While the first specimen is larger, it shows signs of being less mature than the second specimen, indicating that the developmental trajectories of Forfexopterus were variable. Like other ctenochasmatids, Forfexopterus had a long, low skull filled with many slender teeth; unlike other members of the group, however, it did not have a spatula-shaped snout tip or crests, and its teeth were more curved. A single characteristic distinguishes Forfexopterus from all other members of the wider group Archaeopterodactyloidea: of the four phalanx bones in its wing finger, the first was shorter than the second but longer than the third.
Liaodactylus is a genus of filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Jurassic of China. The genus contains one species, L. primus, described by Zhou et al. in 2017. As an adaptation to filter-feeding, Liaodactylus had approximately 150 long, comb-like teeth packed closely together. It is both the earliest known ctenochasmatid and the first filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation. Later and more specialized ctenochasmatids differ from Liaodactylus in having longer snouts, smaller openings in the skull, and more teeth. Within the Ctenochasmatidae, Liaodactylus was most closely related to the European Ctenochasma.
Cratonopterus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, C. huabei, known from a partial skeleton. Cratonopterus represents the first named pterosaur from the Huajiying Formation.
