|
Apatorhamphus
''Apatorhamphus'' is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco. It might have been part of the Chaoyangopteridae. It is only known from a few snout fragments and it likely had a wingspan of between Discovery and naming During a visit in 2016 to the Tafilalt phosphate mine on the Aferdou N'Chaft plateau, near Hassi el Begaa, in Er Rachidia, British paleontologist David Michael Martill purchased the jaw fragment of a pterosaur from miners (specimen ''FSAC-KK 5010''). They had dug a tunnel in a thin fossil-containing layer on the edge of a quarry and finds were offered for sale there. These fossils belong to strata that belong to the Kem Kem Beds and date to the Cretaceous period, between the Albian to Cenomanian. In 2020, the new genus and species ''Apatorhamphus gyrostega'' was named and described by James McPhee, Nizar Ibrahim, Alex Kao, David M. Unwin, Roy Smith, and David M. Martill. McPhee ''et al.'' also referred various earlier find ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaoyangopterids
Chaoyangopteridae (or chaoyangopterids) is a family of pterosaurs within the larger group Azhdarchoidea. Chaoyangopterids lived mostly during the Early Cretaceous period, though possible members, ''Microtuban'', '' Xericeps'' and ''Argentinadraco'', may extend the fossil range to the Late Cretaceous. History The clade Chaoyangopteridae was first defined in 2008 by Lü Junchang and David Unwin as: "''Chaoyangopterus'', ''Shenzhoupterus'', their most recent common ancestor and all taxa more closely related to this clade than to '' Tapejara'', ''Tupuxuara'' or ''Quetzalcoatlus''". Based on neck and limb proportions, it has been suggested they occupied a similar ecological niche to that of azhdarchid pterosaurs, though it is possible they were more specialized as several genera occur in Liaoning, while azhdarchids usually occur by one genus in a specific location. Description Chaoyangopterids are distinguished from other pterosaurs by several traits of the nasoantorbital fenestra, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kem Kem Group
The Kem Kem Group (commonly known as the Kem Kem beds) is a geological group in the Kem Kem region of eastern Morocco, whose strata date back to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Its strata are subdivided into two geological formations, the lower Gara Sbaa Formation and the upper Douira Formation. It is exposed on an escarpment along the Algeria–Morocco border. The unit unconformably overlies Paleozoic marine units of Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian age, and is itself capped by limestone platform rock of Cenomanian-Turonian age. It primarily consists of deltaic deposits. The lower Gara Sbaa Formation primarily consists of fine and medium grained sandstone, while the Douira Formation consists of fining-upwards, coarse-to-fine grained sandstones intercalated with siltstones, variegated mudstones, and occasional thin gypsiferous evaporites. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the group.Weishampel, David B; ''et al.'' (2004). "Din ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alanqa
''Alanqa'' is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) of what is now the Kem Kem Beds of southeastern Morocco. The name ''Alanqa'' comes from the Arabic word العنقاء ''al- ‘Anqā’'', for a mythical bird of Arabian culture. Discovery Aided by local villagers, a team of paleontologists had been excavating at several locations in the Kem Kem Beds during April, and November to December 2008, uncovering remains of several different pterosaurs. The material was fragmentary, and the type locality for ''Alanqa'' is Aferdou N'Chaft, near the village of Begaa and to the north-east of Taouz. Description ''Alanqa'' is known only from five fragments of the front upper and lower jaws, and possibly a neck vertebra, representing the single type species ''Alanqa saharica''. Two of these fragments were first described, but not named, by Wellnhofer and Buffetaut in 1999, and referred to a pteranodontid. Three additional jaw specimens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dsungaripterids
Dsungaripteridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were robust pterosaurs with good terrestrial abilities and flight honed for inland settings. Classification In 1964 Young created a family to place the recently found Chinese genus '' Dsungaripterus''. Later on, also '' Noripterus'' (then now with the name " Phobetor" which was already occupied, therefore the quotation marks) were assigned to the family. In 2003, Alexander Kellner gave the exact definition as a clade:Kellner, A.W.A., 2003. Pterosaur phylogeny and comments on the evolutionary history of the AN group. In: Buffetaut, E., Mazin, J.M. (Eds.), ''Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society, London, Special Publication'' 217, 105–137. the group was composed out of the latest common ancestor of ''Dsungaripterus'', ''Noripterus'' and “Phobetor”, and all its descendants. As synapomorphies he gave the next six characteristics: a relatively small eye-socket, which is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptostomia
''Leptostomia'' is a genus of long-beaked pterosaur from the mid-Cretaceous (?Albian-Cenomanian) of Morocco, North Africa. The type species is ''L. begaaensis'', which was named and described in 2021 from sediments of the Kem Kem Group in Morocco. It was a small animal with a long, slender bill which is thought to have been used to probe sediments for worms and other invertebrates, similar to kiwi birds and curlews. ''Leptostomia'' is likely a member of the Azhdarchoidea. Etymology In 2021, paleontologists Roy E. Smith, David Michael Martill, Alexander Kao, Samir Zouhri and Nicholas R. Longrich named the pterosaur species ''Leptostomia begaaensis''. The generic name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''leptos'' (meaning "slim"), and ''stoma'' (meaning "mouth"). The specific name refers to the oasis village Hassi El Begaa, near the Aferdou N 'Chaft site where the pterosaur was found. Discovery The holotype specimen of ''Leptostomia'', FSAC-KK 5075, was found in a layer of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xericeps
''Xericeps'' is a genus of pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Beds (which date to the late Albian or Cenomanian age) of southeastern Morocco. The name ''Xericeps'' comes from the grc, ξερός - meaning dry, referencing the Sahara Desert, in which the pterosaur was first found, and the la, cep from ''capere'', meaning "to catch" - alluding to the creature's forceps-like beak. Description ''Xericeps'' is a medium-sized edentulous (toothless) pterosaur. The term 'medium-sized', in the context of pterosaurs, is generally used to describe pterosaurs with a wingspan of 3–8 metres, and it is likely that ''Xericeps'' was nearer the lower end of this range. The holotype specimen is a partial anterior lower jaw, likely broken off right anterior to where the mandibular rami diverged. The jaw is upturned, with the occluding surface curved in lateral view. On the dorsal surface of the mandibular symphysis are a pair of ridges, similar to those seen in ''Alanqa'' and ''Argenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anhanguerids
Anhangueridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were among the last pterosaurs to possess teeth. A recent study discussing the group considered the Anhangueridae to be typified by a premaxillary crest and a lateral expansion in the distal rostrum. The same study presented a cladistic analysis, for which an "agreement subtree" was calculated. The Anhangueridae was found to be sister taxon to the large crested ''Tropeognathus''. Relationships There are competing theories of ornithocheiromorph phylogeny (evolutionary relationships). Below is cladogram following a topology recovered by Brian Andres, using the most recent iteration of his data set. The cladogram below follows Pêgas ''et al.'' (2019), who recovered Anhangueridae as a much more inclusive group. The analysis found most of the ornithocheirids falling into this family, while ''Ornithocheirus'' itself was recovered as a basal member of Ornithocheirae Ornithocheirae is an extinct clad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrotapejara
''Afrotapejara'' (meaning "African old being") is an extinct genus of tapejarid pterosaur discovered in Morocco. The type species, ''Afrotapejara zouhri'', was named and described in 2020. It was the first tapejarid discovered in Africa and the fourth pterosaur discovered in the Kem Kem Beds. Discovery British paleontologist David Michael Martill acquired a pterosaur jaw from a fossil trader at Erfoud. It would have been excavated at the plateau of Ikhf N’ Taqmout, in Tafilalt. In 2020, the type species ''Afrotapejara zouhri'' was named and described by David Martill, Roy Smith, David M. Unwin, Alexander Kao, James McPhee and Nizar Ibrahim. The generic name combines references to Africa and the related genus '' Tapejara''. The specific name honours the Moroccan paleontologist Samir Zouhri. The holotype, FSAC-KK 5004, had been found in the Kem-Kem Beds, dating from the Albian - early Cenomanian. It consists of a snout lacking the front tip and extending to behind to a posi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jidapterus
''Jidapterus'' is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. The genus was in 2003 named by Dong Zhiming, Sun Yue-Wu and Wu Shao-Yuan. The type species is ''Jidapterus edentus''. The genus name is derived from ''Jílín Dàxué'' or "Jilin University" and a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name means "toothless" in Latin. Description ''Jidapterus'' is based on holotype CAD-01, a nearly complete skeleton with partial skull. The skull is toothless and relatively long, with a straight and very pointed beak, and a large hole where the antorbital fenestra is joined with the nostrils. The eye sockets are small, and there is no crest along the lower jaw as seen in ornithocheiroids, although a short projection was present at the back of the skull. The wingspan of this individual was estimated to be . Classification The classification of ''Jidapterus'' has been unstable; the original au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaoyangopterus
''Chaoyangopterus'' is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur known from a partial skeleton found in Liaoning, China. ''Chaoyangopterus'' was found in rocks dating back to the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Dapingfang, Chaoyang. Etymology ''Chaoyangopterus'' was named and described in 2003 by Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zhonghe. The type species is ''Chaoyangopterus zhangi''. The genus name is derived from Chaoyang and a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name honors journalist Zhang Wanlian for his efforts in protecting fossil sites. Description ''Chaoyangopterus'' is based on holotype IVPP V13397, which includes the front of the skull, the lower jaws, the neck vertebrae, the shoulder and pelvic girdles, and the limbs. The skull is about long and toothless, and its wingspan is estimated to have been around . Wang and Zhou concluded that it compared most closely to ''Nyctosaurus'' and classified it as a nyctosaurid, although they found that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalassodromidae
Thalassodrominae or Thalassodromidae (meaning "sea runners", due to previous misconceptions of skimming behavior; they are now thought to be terrestrial predators) is a group of azhdarchoid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period. Its traditional members come from Brazil, however, other possible members also come from other places, including the United States, Morocco, and Argentina. Thalassodrominae is considered either to be a subfamily within the pterosaur family Tapejaridae, or as a distinct family, Thalassodromidae, within the clade Neoazhdarchia, closely related to dsungaripterids or azhdarchids. Classification Thalassodrominae traditionally includes only two genera, ''Thalassodromeus'' and '' Tupuxuara'', and was defined to include them and any other descendants of their most recent common ancestor. The classification of thalassodromines is controversial. Some studies, including one by Lü and colleagues in 2008, have found that the thalassodromines are more closely relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
