Monofenestrata

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Monofenestratans
Temporal range:
Middle JurassicLate Cretaceous, 166–66  Ma
Darwinopterus.jpg
Fossil specimen of Darwinopterus modularis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Clade: Pterodactylomorpha
Clade: Monofenestrata
et al., 2010
Subgroups

Monofenestrata is an unranked group of pterosaurs that includes the family Wukongopteridae and the suborder Pterodactyloidea. [1]

The clade Monofenestrata was in 2009/2010 defined as the group consisting of Pterodactylus and all species sharing with Pterodactylus the synapomorphy of an external nostril confluent with the antorbital fenestra, the major skull opening on the side of the snout. The name is derived from Greek monos, "single", and Latin fenestra, "window". The concept was inspired by the discovery of Darwinopterus , a species combining a pterodactyloid-type skull with a more basal build of the remainder of the body. [1] The Darwinoptera, a primitive subgroup of monofenestratans showing this transitional anatomy, was also named for Darwinopterus and defined as all descendants of its common ancestor with Pterorhynchus . [2]

The earliest known monofenestratan fossils have been found in the Stonesfield Slate formation of the United Kingdom, which dates to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, dated to about 166 million years ago. Identified elements include cervical vertebrae, fourth metacarpals and a possible pterodactyloid synsacrum. [3]

Below is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic analysis presented by Andres, Clark & Xu, 2014. This study found the two traditional groupings of ctenochasmatoids and kin as an early branching group (represented as the group Archaeopterodactyloidea), with all other pterodactyloids grouped into the Eupterodactyloidea. [2]

  Pterodactylomorpha  

Sordes SordesDB flipped.jpg

 Monofenestrata 
Darwinoptera

Pterorhynchus

Wukongopteridae

Pterodactyliformes 

Changchengopterus

  Caelidracones  

Anurognathidae AnurognathusDB white background.jpg

Pterodactyloidea

Archaeopterodactyloidea Pterodactylus BMMS7 life.png

Eupterodactyloidea Pteranodon longiceps mmartyniuk wiki.png

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<i>Gnathosaurus</i> Genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic period

Gnathosaurus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur containing two species: G. subulatus, named in 1833 from the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, and G. macrurus, known from the Purbeck Limestone of the UK. Its fossil remains dated back to the Late Jurassic period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pterodactyloidea</span> Suborder of monofenestratan pterosaurs

Pterodactyloidea is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs, and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles. They appeared during the middle Jurassic Period, and differ from the basal rhamphorhynchoids by their short tails and long wing metacarpals. The most advanced forms also lack teeth, and by the late Cretaceous, all known pterodactyloids were toothless. Many species had well-developed crests on the skull, a form of display taken to extremes in giant-crested forms like Nyctosaurus and Tupandactylus. Pterodactyloids were the last surviving pterosaurs when the order became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, together with the non-avian dinosaurs and most marine reptiles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ctenochasmatoidea</span> Superfamily of archaeopterodactyloid pterosaurs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ctenochasmatidae</span> Family of ctenochasmatoid pterosaurs

Ctenochasmatidae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They are characterized by their distinctive teeth, which are thought to have been used for filter-feeding. Ctenochasmatids lived from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous periods.

<i>Darwinopterus</i> Genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic

Darwinopterus is a genus of pterosaur, discovered in China and named after biologist Charles Darwin. Between 30 and 40 fossil specimens have been identified, all collected from the Tiaojishan Formation, which dates to the middle Jurassic period, 160.89–160.25 Ma ago. The type species, D. modularis, was described in February 2010. D. modularis was the first known pterosaur to display features of both long-tailed (rhamphorhynchoid) and short-tailed (pterodactyloid) pterosaurs, and was described as a transitional fossil between the two groups. Two additional species, D. linglongtaensis and D. robustodens, were described from the same fossil beds in December 2010 and June 2011, respectively.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wukongopteridae</span> Family of darwinopteran pterosaurs from the Jurassic period

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<i>Liaodactylus</i> Genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Lü, J.; Unwin, D.M.; Jin, X.; Liu, Y.; Ji, Q. (2010). "Evidence for modular evolution in a long-tailed pterosaur with a pterodactyloid skull". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 277 (1680): 383–389. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1603. PMC   2842655 . PMID   19828548.
  2. 1 2 Andres, B.; Clark, J.; Xu, X. (2014). "The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group". Current Biology . 24 (9): 1011–6. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.030 . PMID   24768054.
  3. Michael O’Sullivan; David M. Martill (2018). "Pterosauria of the Great Oolite Group (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, England". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Online edition. doi : 10.4202/app.00490.2018.