Linlongopterus

Last updated

Linlongopterus
Temporal range: Albian, 120  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Clade: Lanceodontia
Clade: Istiodactyliformes
Genus: Linlongopterus
Rodrigues et al., 2015
Species:
L. jennyae
Binomial name
Linlongopterus jennyae
Rodrigues et al., 2015

Linlongopterus is a genus of pteranodontoid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China. It is known from a partial skull and mandible first named and described in 2015 by Rodrigues et al.. The only known specimen was found in the Jiufotang Formation of the Liaoning Province or China, and lived around 120 million years ago. The full binomial of the taxon is Linlongopterus jennyae, with the generic name translating from the Chinese "forest" (lin) and "dragon" (long), and the Greek "wing" (pteros), while the species name honours Elfriede Kellner, nicknamed Jenny, a supporter of paleontology. [1] The proper word for wing in ancient Greek is however pteron (πτερόν). [2]

Linlongopterus was placed in a phylogenetic analysis to determine its relationships. The taxon was located within Dsungaripteroidea (sensu Kellner), which included Azhdarchoidea, Dsungaripteridae, and Pteranodontoidea, all of which were mostly dissolved due to the few remains known from Linlongopterus. Based on the teeth presence and anatomy, Linlongopterus was excluded from Azhdarchoidea and Dsungaripteridae, which are toothless and have very specialized teeth respectively. As such, Linlongopterus was placed within Pteranodontoidea. Within Pteranodontoidea, pteranodontids have no teeth, and istiodactylids have triangular teeth, different from the elongate teeth of Linlongopterus. The taxon does not have the crests on its jaws, which excludes it from derived Anhangueridae, leaving a position basal within Anhangueria most likely. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dsungaripterus</i> Genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Dsungaripterus is a genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur with an average wingspan of 3 meters (9.8 ft). Dsungaripterus lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now China, and its first fossil was found in the Tugulu Group the Junggar Basin.

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

Caulkicephalus is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Isle of Wight off the coast of England. It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago.

<i>Noripterus</i> Genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Noripterus is a genus of dsungaripterid pterodactyloid pterosaur from Lower Cretaceous-age Lianmuqin Formation in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China. It was first named by Yang Zhongjian in 1973. Additional fossil remains have been recovered from Tsagaantsav Svita, Mongolia.

<i>Chaoyangopterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Chaoyangopterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur known from a partial skeleton found in Liaoning, China. Chaoyangopterus was found in rocks dating back to the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Dapingfang, Chaoyang.

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".

<i>Sinopterus</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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.

<i>Jidapterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Jidapterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. The genus was in 2003 named by Dong Zhiming, Sun Yue-Wu and Wu Shao-Yuan. The type species is Jidapterus edentus. The genus name is derived from Jílín Dàxué or "Jilin University" and a Latinized Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name means "toothless" in Latin.

<i>Nurhachius</i> Genus of istiodactylid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiroidea</span> Clade of pterodactyloid pterosaurs

Ornithocheiroidea is a group of pterosaurs within the extinct suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were typically large pterosaurs that lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, with fossil remains found all over the world except Antarctica.

<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.

<i>Shenzhoupterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Shenzhoupterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of modern-day Liaoning, China. Fossil remains of Shenzhoupterus date back to the Early Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago.

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

<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">Pteranodontoidea</span> Clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Pteranodontoidea is an extinct clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Early to Late Cretaceous of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. It was named by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996. In 2003, Kellner defined the clade as a node-based taxon consisting of the last common ancestor of Anhanguera, Pteranodon and all its descendants. The clade Ornithocheiroidea is sometimes considered to be the senior synonym of Pteranodontoidea, however it depends on its definition. Brian Andres in his analyses, converts Ornithocheiroidea using the definition of Kellner (2003) to avoid this synonymy.

<i>Hamipterus</i> Genus of hamipterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Hamipterus is an extinct genus of pteranodontoid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Shengjinkou Formation of northwestern China. It is known from a single species, the type species, H. tianshanensis.

<i>Chuanqilong</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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.

<i>Ikrandraco</i> Genus of lonchodraconid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ikrandraco is a genus of lonchodraconid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from Lower Cretaceous rocks in northeastern China and the Cambridge Greensand of the UK. It is notable for its unusual skull, which features a crest on the lower jaw.

<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.

<i>Forfexopterus</i> Genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Rodrigues, T.; Jiang, S.; Cheng, X.; Wang, X.; Kellner, A.W.A. (2015). "A new toothed pteranodontoid (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Jiufotang Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Aptian) of China and comments on Liaoningopterus gui Wang and Zhou, 2003". Historical Biology. 27 (6): 782–795. doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1033417. S2CID   129062416.
  2. Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.