Germanodactylidae is a controversial group of pterosaurs within the suborder

Pterodactyloidea Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek words ''πτερόν'' (''pterón'', for usual ''ptéryx'') "wing", and ''δάκτυλος'' (''dáktylos'') "finger" meaning "winged finger", "wing-finger" or "finger-wing") is one of the two traditional ...

. It was first named by

Yang Zhongjian Yang Zhongjian, also Yang Chung-chien (; 1 June 1897 – 15 January 1979), courtesy name Keqiang (), also known as C.C. (Chung Chien) Young, was a Chinese paleontologist and zoologist. He was one of China's foremost vertebrate paleontologists. H ...

in 1964, and given a formal

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

definition in 2014 by Brian Andres, James Clark, and Xu Xing. They defined it as the least inclusive clade containing ''

Germanodactylus cristatus ''Germanodactylus'' ("German finger") is a genus of germanodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from Upper Jurassic-age rocks of Germany, including the Solnhofen Limestone. Its specimens were long thought to pertain to ''Pterodactylus''. The head ...

'' and ''

Normannognathus wellnhoferi ''Normannognathus'' is a genus of pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian-age Upper Jurassic Argiles d'Octeville Formation of France. Initially, ''Normannognathus'' was classified to the family Germanodactylidae, sister taxon to ''Germanodactylus'', ...

'', which they considered to be close relatives at the time. However, more recent studies by the same researchers have found that these pterosaurs may be only distantly related. Studies performed in the 2000s suggested this group it contained three genera: ''

Germanodactylus ''Germanodactylus'' ("German finger") is a genus of germanodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from Upper Jurassic-age rocks of Germany, including the Solnhofen Limestone. Its specimens were long thought to pertain to ''Pterodactylus''. The head ...

'', '' Normannognathus'' and ''

Tendaguripterus ''Tendaguripterus'' was a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Middle Saurian Beds (Tendaguru Formation) of Tendaguru, Lindi Region, Tanzania. Discovery and naming During the German paleontolog ...

''. Various studies have since placed these pterosaurs within the larger clades

Archaeopterodactyloidea Archaeopterodactyloidea (meaning "ancient Pterodactyloidea") is an extinct clade of pterodactyloid pterosaurs that lived from the middle Late Jurassic to the latest Early Cretaceous periods (Kimmeridgian to Albian stages) of Africa, Asia, Europe ...

Eupterodactyloidea Eupterodactyloidea (meaning "true Pterodactyloidea") is an extinct group of pterodactyloid pterosaurs that existed from the latest Late Jurassic to the latest Late Cretaceous periods (Tithonian to Maastrichtian stages). Eupterodactyloids lived on ...

, or

Dsungaripteroidea Dsungaripteroidea is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Evolutionary history The earliest known fossils attributed to this group are from the Kimmeridgian-age Upper Jurassic Argiles d'Octeville Formation of France, date ...

, though it has also been recovered within the

Ctenochasmatoidea Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of early pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Their remains are usually found in what were once coastal or lake environments. They generally had long wings, long necks, and highly specialized teeth. Evol ...

. In several 2010s studies, the supposed "germanodactylid" species were not necessarily found to form a natural group with each other, and even the genus ''

'' itself was discovered to be likely paraphyletic, causing one of its component species to be renamed '' Altmuehlopterus''. This would render the name Germanodactylidae synonymous with some other clade, such as

or Lophocratia. Korean Late Cretaceous pterosaur tracks have been interpreted as belonging to a ''Germanodactylus''-like taxon.

Classification

Below is a

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

showing the results of a

analysis presented by Longrich, Martill, and Andres, 2018.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q517744 Pterodactyloids Prehistoric reptile families