Mimodactylidae

Last updated

Mimodactylids
Temporal range: Early-Late Cretaceous, 125–95  Ma
Mimodactylus.png
Holotype fossil of Mimodactylus libanensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Clade: Lanceodontia
Clade: Istiodactyliformes
Clade: Mimodactylidae
Kellner, Caldwell, Holgado, Dalla Vecchia, Nohra, Sayão, and Currie, 2019
Genera

Mimodactylidae is a group or family of pterosaurs known from Cretaceous deposits in East Asia and the Middle East. They are phylogenetically more closely related to the Istiodactylidae than to the Ornithocheiridae or the Anhangueridae, forming the clade Istiodactyliformes together with the Istiodactylidae and Hongshanopterus . [1]

In 2019, Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Michael Wayne Caldwell, Borja Holgado, Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia, Roy Nohra, Juliana Manso Sayão and Philip John Currie defined the clade Mimodactylidae as the group consisting of Mimodactylus libanensis and all species more closely related to Mimodactylus than to Istiodactylus latidens, Ikrandraco avatar or Anhanguera blittersdorffi. [1] The same year, just two species were known: Mimodactylus from the Cenomanian of Lebanon and its sister taxon Haopterus from the Aptian of China. [1]

Classification

The cladogram below is from the topology recovered by Kellner et al. (2019). [1]

Istiodactyliformes
Mimodactylidae

Haopterus

Mimodactylus

Hongshanopterus

Istiodactylidae

Nurhachius

Istiodactylinae

Liaoxipterus

Istiodactylus sinensis

Istiodactylus latidens

Related Research Articles

<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>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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapejaridae</span> Family of azhdarchoid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Tapejaridae are a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period. Members are currently known from Brazil, England, Hungary, Morocco, Spain, the United States, and China. The most primitive genera were found in China, indicating that the family has an Asian origin.

<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.

<i>Haopterus</i> Genus of pteranodontoid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Haopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Its fossil remains dated back 124.6 million years ago.

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".

<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.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Istiodactylidae</span> Family of istiodactyliform pterosaurs

Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus.

<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>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.

<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.

The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon.

<i>Caiuajara</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Caiuajara is an extinct genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Brazil. It is known from a single type species, Caiuajara dobruskii.

<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">MIM Museum</span> Museum of minerals and fossils in Beirut, Lebanon

The MIM is a private museum in Beirut, Lebanon. The name is an abbreviation of "Mineral Museum." The museum displays more than 2,000 minerals, representing 450 different species from 70 countries, and is considered one of the most significant private collections of minerals in the world. It opened in 2013. The museum also hosts an exhibition of marine and flying fossils from Lebanon.

<i>Mimodactylus</i> Genus of Late Cretaceous pterosaur

Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared and scientifically described by an international team of researchers, and when it was eventually sold, the buyer donated it to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis; the generic name refers to the MIM Museum, combined with the Greek word daktylos for "digit", and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent, and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kellner, Alexander W. A.; Caldwell, Michael W.; Holgado, Borja; Vecchia, Fabio M. Dalla; Nohra, Roy; Sayão, Juliana M.; Currie, Philip J. (2019). "First complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent: insight into pterodactyloid diversity". Scientific Reports. 9(1). doi : 10.1038/s41598-019-54042-z.