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Mimodactylidae
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''.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). . 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 ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mimodactylus
''Mimodactylus'' is a genus of mimodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of what is now Lebanon. Discovery and naming In the ''Lagerstätte'' of Hjoula, ten kilometres inland from the port of Byblos, commercial fossil hunters regularly make important discoveries. A rare pterosaur skeleton was acquired by an anonymous benefactor and donated to the ''Mineral Museum'' at Beirut, part of the ''Université Saint-Joseph''. It was prepared in Canada by Luke Allan Lindoe, a technician of the University of Alberta. Since 2017, the museum displays two life-size models of the animal, one standing, the other flying, and a hologram. In 2019, the type species ''Mimodactylus libanensis'' was named and described by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Michael Wayne Caldwell, Borja Holgado, Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia, Roy Nohra, Juliana Manso Sayão and Philip John Currie. The generic name combines a reference to the MIM, the usual acronym of the museum, with a Greek δάκτ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haopterus
''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. Discovery and naming It was in 2001 named by Wang Xiaolin and Lü Junchang. The type species is ''Haopterus gracilis''. The genus name honors Professor Hao Yichun and combines her name with a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name, "slender-built" in Latin, refers to the condition of the metatarsals. The genus is based on holotype IVPP V11726, a crushed fossil found in 1998 at the Sihetun-locality. The layer it was discovered in, was argon-dated at an age of 124.6 million years. It was the first Chinese pterosaur fossil preserving the skull. It consists of the front half of a subadult, including a skull, lower jaws, pectoral girdle, sternum, wings, cervical and dorsal vertebrae, partial pelvis and metatarsals. Description The skull of ''Haopterus'' is with a length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiodactylus
''Istiodactylus'' is a genus of pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 120 million years ago. The first fossil was discovered on the English Isle of Wight in 1887, and in 1901 became the holotype specimen of a new species, ''O. latidens'' (Latin for "wide tooth"), in the genus ''Ornithodesmus''. This species was moved to its own genus, ''Istiodactylus'', in 2001; this name is Greek for "sail finger". More specimens were described in 1913, and ''Istiodactylus'' was the only pterosaur known from three-dimensionally preserved fossils for much of the 20th century. In 2006, a species from China, ''I. sinensis'', was assigned to ''Istiodactylus'', but it has also been suggested to belong to a different genus. ''Istiodactylus'' was a large pterosaur; estimates of its wingspan range from . Its skull was about long, and was relatively short and broad for a pterosaur. The front of the snout was low and blunt, and bore a semicircle of 48 teeth. The triangular teeth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiodactyliformes
Ornithocheiromorpha (from Ancient Greek, meaning "bird hand form") is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods (Valanginian to Turonian stages), around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Ornithocheiromorphs were discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera were recovered in Europe, Asia and South America. They were the most diverse and successful pterosaurs during the Early Cretaceous, but throughout the Late Cretaceous they were replaced by better adapted and more advanced pterosaur species such the pteranodontids and azhdarchoids. The Ornithocheiromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues, and they made Ornithocheiromorpha the most inclusive clade containing ''Ornithocheirus'', but not ''Pteranodon''. Ornithocheiromorphs are considered to be some of the largest animals to have ever flown. Members of this group are also regarded to have some of the largest pt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiodactylinae
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''. Systematics and distribution Remains of taxa that can be confidently assigned to Istiodactylidae have been found in the UK and China, in rocks dating from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian stage). Arbour and Currie (2011) described Canadian ''Gwawinapterus beardi'' as a member of Istiodactylidae living in the late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage); however, Witton (2012) suggested the tooth replacement pattern in this animal does not match that of pterosaurs, suggesting that the species might be non-pterosaurian. Additional research suggested that the species was in fact a fish. The earliest known species might be ''Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis'', from the Middle Jurassic of China; however, it also has been suggested that the holotype specimen of this species might actually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithocheiridae
Ornithocheiridae (or ornithocheirids, meaning "bird hands") is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. These pterosaurs were among the last to possess teeth. Members that belong to this group lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods (Valanginian to Turonian stages), around 140 to 90 million years ago. Ornithocheirids are generally infamous for having an enormously controversial and very confusing taxonomy. Although agreements that these animals were related, and therefore similar to istiodactylids and pteranodontians, there is still no virtual consensus over the exact content and interrelationships of this group. Ornithocheirids were the most successful pterosaurs during their reign, they were also the largest pterosaurs before the appearance of the azhdarchids such as ''Quetzalcoatlus''. Ornithocheirids were excellent fish hunters, they used various flight techniques to catch their prey, and they are also capable of flying great distances without f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hongshanopterus
''Hongshanopterus'' is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. The type species ''Hongshanopterus lacustris'' was in 2008 named and described by Wang Xiaolin, Diogenes de Almeida Campos, Zhou Zhonghe and Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner. The generic name combines a reference to the Hongshan culture in Lioaning with a Latinised Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name means "of the lake" in Latin, referring to the lake deposits the fossil was found in, at Dapinfang. ''Hongshanopterus'' is based on the holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ... IVPP V14582, found in a layer of the Jiufotang Formation dating from the Aptian, It consists of a skull and five neck vertebrae of a single subadult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istiodactylidae
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''. Systematics and distribution Remains of taxa that can be confidently assigned to Istiodactylidae have been found in the UK and China, in rocks dating from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian stage). Arbour and Currie (2011) described Canadian ''Gwawinapterus beardi'' as a member of Istiodactylidae living in the late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage); however, Witton (2012) suggested the tooth replacement pattern in this animal does not match that of pterosaurs, suggesting that the species might be non-pterosaurian. Additional research suggested that the species was in fact a fish. The earliest known species might be '' Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis'', from the Middle Jurassic of China; however, it also has been suggested that the holotype specimen of this species might actuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue Line (Lebanon), the south, while Cyprus lies to its west across the Mediterranean Sea; its location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabs, Arabian hinterland has contributed to History of Lebanon, its rich history and shaped Culture of Lebanon, a cultural identity of demographics of Lebanon#Religious groups, religious diversity. It is part of the Levant region of the Middle East. Lebanon is home to roughly six million people and covers an area of , making it the List of countries and dependencies by area, second smallest country in continental Asia. The official language of the state is Arabic, while French language, French is also formally recognized; the Lebanese Arabic, Lebanese dialect of Arabic is used alongside Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip John Currie
Philip John Currie (born March 13, 1949) is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the 1980s, he became the director of the Canada-China Dinosaur Project, the first cooperative palaeontological partnering between China and the West since the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s, and helped describe some of the first feathered dinosaurs. He is one of the primary editors of the influential ''Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs'', and his areas of expertise include theropods (especially Tyrannosauridae), the origin of birds, and dinosaurian migration patterns and herding behavior. He was one of the models for palaeontologist Alan Grant in the film ''Jurassic Park''. Biography Currie received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto in 1972, a Master of Science degree from McGill University in 1975, and a Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sister Taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and taxon B are sister groups to each other. Taxa A and B, together with any other extant or extinct descendants of their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), form a monophyletic group, the clade AB. Clade AB and taxon C are also sister groups. Taxa A, B, and C, together with all other descendants of their MRCA form the clade ABC. The whole clade ABC is itself a subtree of a larger tree which offers yet more sister group relationships, both among the leaves and among larger, more deeply rooted clades. The tree structure shown connects through its root to the rest of the universal tree of life. In cladistic standards, taxa A, B, and C may represent specimens, species, genera, or any other taxonomic units. If A and B are at the same t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding age. Both age and stage bear the same name. As a unit of geologic time measure, the Cenomanian Age spans the time between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago (Mya). In the geologic timescale, it is preceded by the Albian and is followed by the Turonian. The Upper Cenomanian starts around at 95 Mya. The Cenomanian is coeval with the Woodbinian of the regional timescale of the Gulf of Mexico and the early part of the Eaglefordian of the regional timescale of the East Coast of the United States. At the end of the Cenomanian, an anoxic event took place, called the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli event", that is associated with a minor extinction event for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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