A new darwinopteran pterosaur reveals arborealism and an opposed thumb

Zhou, Xuanyu; Pêgas, Rodrigo V.; Ma, Waisum; Han, Gang; Jin, Xiao‐Feng; Leal, Maria E. C.; Bonde, Niels; Kobayashi, Yoshiyuki; Lautenschlager, Stephan; Wei, Xuefang; Shen, Caizhi; Shu'an, JI

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.030

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(124 reference statements)

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“…Wang et al (2014) demonstrated that the rostral anterior expansion is an ontogenetic feature in Hamipterus and that the premaxillary crest's size and shape are sexually dimorphic within the species . Three years before, sexual dimorphism in pterosaurs was already reported for Chinese specimens, when Lü et al (2011) described a Darwinopterus specimen associated with two eggs, which was later attributed to Kunpengopterus (Wang et al, 2015; Zhou et al, 2021). That finding, together with the assessment of several other similar specimens, showed that the darwinopteran males had relatively small pelvises and large cranial crests, while females had larger pelvises and lacked cranial crests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The ontogenetic growth of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) premaxillary crests as revealed by a crestless Anhanguera specimen

Duque

Pinheiro

Barreto

2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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The Anhangueridae are a clade of toothed pterodactyloid pterosaurs, known from their characteristic anteriorly expanded premaxillae and conspicuous rostral sagittal premaxillary and dentary crests. Most known anhanguerids come from the Lower Cretaceous Romualdo Formation within the Araripe Basin of northeast Brazil. With four currently valid genera and several specimens referred to the clade, anhanguerids are the most abundant and diverse tetrapod group in the Romualdo Formation. However, some studies suggest this diversity may be overestimated, as many taxa have been diagnosed based on subtle differences in their premaxillary crests, a structure argued to be either ontogenetically variable or sexually dimorphic. Here we describe an anterior fragment of a gracile pterosaur rostrum that possesses the single diagnostic feature of Anhanguera (fifth and sixth pairs of dental alveoli smaller than the fourth and seventh), but lacks a sagittal crest. The affinities of the new fossil among other toothed pterosaurs were tested through both cladistic and geometric morphometric approaches, which allow referral of the new specimen to Anhanguera. The absence of a crest in the new specimen of Anhanguera suggests that this structure varies in terms of ontogeny and/or sex, and that perhaps it was influenced by sexual selection.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The ontogenetic growth of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) premaxillary crests as revealed by a crestless Anhanguera specimen

Duque

Pinheiro

Barreto

2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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“…According to our SMA analysis, this variation is uncorrelated to body size. Quadrate reclination has been regarded as of taxonomic importance for Pteranodon ( Bennett, 1994 ), tapejarids ( Kellner, 2013 ), Nurhachius ( Zhou et al, 2019 ), and wukongopterids ( Zhou et al, 2021 ). Based on pterosaur species known from multiple specimens, intraspecific variation in quadrate reclination seems to surround 3°–6°, as seen in Pterodactylus antiquus , Aerodactylus scolopaciceps , Hamipterus tianshanensis , Pteranodon longiceps , and Pteranodon sternbergii (see Zhou et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A taxonomic revision of the Sinopterus complex (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with the new genus Huaxiadraco

Pêgas

Zhou

Jin

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Tapejarids are edentulous pterosaurs particularly abundant in the Chinese Jiufotang Formation, counting with over 10 described specimens and dozens of undescribed ones. A total of seven nominal tapejarid species (within two genera) have been proposed, though it is disputed how many of those are valid instead of sexual or ontogenetic morphs of fewer, or a single, species. However, detailed revisions of the matter are still lacking. In the present work, we provide a specimen-level survey of anatomical variation in previously described Jiufotang tapejarid specimens, as well as of six new ones. We present qualitative and morphometric comparisons, aiming to provide a basis for a taxonomic reappraisal of the complex. Our results lead us to interpret two Jiufotang tapejarid species as valid: Sinopterus dongi and Huaxiadraco corollatus (gen. et comb. nov.). Our primary taxonomic decisions did not rely around cranial crest features, which have typically been regarded as diagnostic for most of these proposed species albeit ever-growing evidence that these structures are highly variable in pterosaurs, due to ontogeny and sexual dimorphism. However, a reassessment of premaxillary crest variation in the Sinopterus complex reveals that while much of the observed variation (crest presence and size) can easily be attributed to intraspecific (ontogenetic and sexual) variation, some of it (crest shape) does seem to represent interspecific variation indeed. A phylogenetic analysis including the species regarded as valid was also performed.

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“…The systematic relationships of pterosaurs are controversial with multiple competing, and contradictory, phylogenies in the literature. Here the genera are groups broadly according to the relationships of Zhou et al (2021) for non-pterodactyloids and Hone et al, (2020) for pterodactyloids, but it should be noted that some taxa do not clearly fall into recognised clades, or are controversial in their placement and some clade names vary in usage by different authors. Eopterosauria.…”

Section: Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One specimen of Darwinopterus (Lü et al, 2011b) has been suggested to actually belong to Kunpengopterus by Zhou et al (2021), although Lü et al, (2011b) never identified to which species it may belong, and the wukongopterids as a whole are in need of clear taxonomic revision. This specimen is notable for being preserved with an egg and can be confidently identified as female having at least reached reproductive maturity.…”

Section: Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The anatomy and diversity of the pterosaurian sternum

Hone

2023

Palaeontol Electron

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Despite a key role in anchoring major flight muscle groups, the sternum of pterosaurs has attracted relatively little attention in the scientific literature. Here the sterna of more than 60 pterosaur genera are described and compared. Despite the overall conservative nature of the pterosaurian skeleton, the sternum varies greatly within and between clades, and ontogenetically. The sternum appears to have been mostly cartilaginous in juvenile (flying) pterosaurs, which ossified in different patterns in various taxa and even individuals leading at least in part to the variation seen. Comparisons of the pterosaur sternum to other reptiles suggest that it is formed of the clavicles, interclavicle and sternal plated fused into a single unit, though the details of this remain uncertain. Further studies of this major anatomical feature are required given its importance in anchoring flight muscles and therefore locomotion.

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A new darwinopteran pterosaur reveals arborealism and an opposed thumb

Cited by 15 publications

References 47 publications

The ontogenetic growth of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) premaxillary crests as revealed by a crestless Anhanguera specimen

The ontogenetic growth of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) premaxillary crests as revealed by a crestless Anhanguera specimen

A taxonomic revision of the Sinopterus complex (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with the new genus Huaxiadraco

The anatomy and diversity of the pterosaurian sternum

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