Shenzhoupterus chaoyangensis (meaning "Shenzhou wing") is an extinct genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China.
Etymology[]
Shenzhoupterus was named in 2008 by Lü Junchang, David Unwin, Xu Li, and Zhang Xingliao.
Description[]
Shenzhoupterus is known from an articulated skeleton, including the skull. In the paper describing it, it was noted to possess a remarkably tall nasoantorbital fenestra, extending well above the braincase.[1] Shenzhoupterus is based on holotype HGM 41HIII-305A (Henan Geological Museum at Zhengzhou), the articulated skull and skeleton of a single individual, with a wingspan of 1.4 meters (4.6 feet). The holotype skull lies on its right side, and has been heavily compressed, especially the cranium. The spinal column is poorly preserved and mostly indistinct. The orbit is small, pear-shaped and situated below the nasoantorbital fenestra's dorsal margin.[1] The scapula is longer and slenderer than the coracoid, and the deltopectoral crest of the humerus is described as "markedly elongate". No caudal or pelvic elements are identifiable, and a fifth pedal digit is considered totally absent.[1]
Classification[]
The initial paper recovered Shenzhoupterus as a member of a clade of azhdarchoids also consisting of Chaoyangopterus, Eoazhdarcho, Eopteranodon, and Jidapterus.[1] After the type species, this clade was dubed Chaoyangopteridae. Subsequent phylogenies have recovered a chaoyangopterid polytomy, though the status of Shenzhoupterus as a member of this family has remained unchallenged, in spite of further studies.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lü, J., Unwin, D.M., Xu, L. et al. A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China and its implications for pterosaur phylogeny and evolution. Naturwissenschaften 95, 891–897 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-008-0397-5
- ↑ Kellner, Alexander W. A.; Weinschütz, Luiz C.; Holgado, Borja; Bantim, Renan A. M.; Sayão, Juliana M. (19 August 2019). "A new toothless pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from Southern Brazil with insights into the paleoecology of a Cretaceous desert". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 91 (suppl 2): e20190768. doi:10.1590/0001-3765201920190768.
Skeletal diagram with missing elements restored after related genera