Nipponopterus
''Nipponopterus'' (meaning "Nippon wing") is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Turonian and Coniacian ages of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Japan. Its remains, which consist of a partial cervical vertebra, cervical (neck) vertebra, were found in the Mifune Group, located in the Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyūshū. It was made the holotype specimen of the genus and type species ''Nipponopterus mifunensis'', named and described by paleontologist Xuanyu Zhou and colleagues in 2025. ''Nipponopterus'' represents the first pterosaur to be named from Japan. Morphologically, ''Nipponopterus'' is similar to the pterosaur nicknamed "Bayanshiree Formation, Burkhant azhdarchid" from Mongolia. Both are estimated to have had a wingspan measuring around when fully grown. In its description, ''Nipponopterus'' was assigned to the clade Quetzalcoatlinae within the family Azhdarchidae, as the sister taxon of the already mentioned "Burkhant azhdarchid". Discovery and ...
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