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Pteranodontid
The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North America and possibly other continents including Europe and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head (most famously seen in ''Pteranodon'' itself). The spectacularly-crested '' Nyctosaurus'' is sometimes included in this family, though usually placed in its own family, the Nyctosauridae (Nicholson & Lydekker, 1889). Modern researchers differ in their use of the concept. S. Christopher Bennett and Alexander Kellner have concluded that ''Nyctosaurus'' was not a pteranodontid. In 1994 Bennett defined a clade Pteranodontidae, also including species of the Ornithocheiromorpha. However, this definition has not been accepted by other workers. Alexander Kellner, for example, named several additional species for specimens previously classified as ''Pteranodon'', and placed ''P. sternbergi'' in a disti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bogolubovia
''Bogolubovia'' is a genus of pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (early Campanian) Rybushka Formation of Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, Russia. It is named for Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov, the paleontologist who discovered the remains in 1914. Description ''Bogolubovia'' would have been a mid-sized pterosaur, with an estimated wingspan of suggested by the holotype; a later found radius indicates a wingspan of .Averianov, A.O., Arkhangelsky, M.S., Pervushov, E.M., and Ivanov, A.V. (2005). "A New Record of an Azhdarchid (Pterosauria: Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Volga Region." ''Paleontological Journal'', 39(4): 433-439. Classification Bogolubov had initially assigned the specimen, consisting of a single partial large cervical vertebra, as a new species of ''Ornithostoma'', ''O. orientalis''. It was later reclassified as a species of ''Pteranodon'', before being reassigned to a separate genus of Pteranodontidae by Lev Nesov and Alexander Yarkov in 1989.Bogolubov, N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dawndraco
''Dawndraco'' is a controversial genus of pteranodontidae, pteranodontid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It is likely synonymous with the contemporary pteranodontid ''Geosternbergia.'' ''Dawndraco'' was named by Alexander Kellner, Alexander W.A. Kellner in 2010 in paleontology, 2010. The type species is ''Dawndraco kanzai''. The name of a biological genus, generic name combines the Dawn deity of the Iroquois with a Latin ''draco'', "dragon". The specific name (zoology), specific name refers to the Kaw people, Kanza tribe of Kansas. ''Dawndraco'' is based on the holotype specimen UALVP 24238, a partial skeleton including an almost complete skull and lower jaws. It was recovered in 1974 by Richard C. Fox and Allen Lindoe from rocks of the lower part of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation in Utica, Kansas. These rocks date to the late Coniacian or early Santonian stage, about 86 million years ago. The specimen was earlier referred to ''Ptera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volgadraco
''Volgadraco'' ("Volga River dragon") is a genus of pteranodontian pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of European Russia. Discovery and naming ''Volgadraco'' is known from lower beak (holotype SGU, no. 46/104a) and postcranial fragments from the early Campanian-age Rybushka Formation of Saratov, Russia. The size of this animal, and the development of blood supply in the lower jaw are intermediate between older Santonian or Turonian azhdarchids like ''Azhdarcho'' and '' Bakonydraco'' and later Maastrichtian azhdarchids like ''Quetzalcoatlus''. ''Volgadraco'' was described in 2008 by Averianov, Arkhangelsky, and Pervushov. The type species is ''V. bogolubovi'', the specific name honouring Russian paleontologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov. Classification Averianov and colleagues initially assigned ''Volgadraco'' to the family Azhdarchidae, and considered the earlier named genus '' Bogolubovia'' to be a ''nomen dubium'' that is potentially identical to ''Volgadraco''. In contras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodon
''Pteranodon'' (; from and ) is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of over . They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama. More fossil specimens of ''Pteranodon'' have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway. When the first fossils of ''Pteranodon'' were found, they were assigned to toothed pterosaur genera, ''Ornithocheirus'' and ''Pterodactylus''. In 1876, Othniel Charles Marsh recognised it as a genus of its own, making particular note of its complete lack of teeth, which at the time was unique among pterosaurs. Over the decades, multiple species would be assigned to ''Pteranodon'', though today, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyctosaurus
''Nyctosaurus'' (meaning "night lizard") is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the Niobrara Formation of the mid-western United States, which, during the time ''Nyctosaurus'' was alive, was covered in an extensive shallow sea. Some remains belonging to a possible ''Nyctosaurus'' species called ''"N." lamegoi'' have been found in Brazil, though it likely belongs to a different genus '' Simurghia''. The genus ''Nyctosaurus'' has had numerous species referred to it, though how many of these may actually be valid requires further study. At least one species possessed an extraordinarily large antler-like cranial crest. ''Nyctosaurus'' was a mid-sized pterosaur that lived along the shores of the Niobrara Formation of the United States, which back then was within a large inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway. It has been suggested that it would have flown similar to modern-day soaring birds such as albatrosses, which consisted of fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geosternbergia Sternbergi
''Pteranodon sternbergi'' is an extinct species of the pteranodontid pterodactyloid pterosaur genus ''Pteranodon'' from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America. ''P. sternbergi'' was among the largest pterosaurs, with a wingspan of up to in males. It has been argued that ''P. sternbergi'' should be classified in a separate genus, ''Geosternbergia'', but this has not been followed by most other researchers. Discovery and history The first fossils of ''Pteranodon sternbergi'' were collected by American paleontologist George F. Sternberg in 1952 from the lower portion of the Niobrara Formation. The fossils of the animal looked similar to those of the species ''Pteranodon longiceps'', but the crests were set upright and in a slightly different position. In 1958, Sternberg and paleontologist Myrl V. Walker published a study about this peculiar find. In 1966, American paleontologist John Christian Harksen assigned the specimens found as a new species of ''Pteranod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tethydraco
''Tethydraco'' is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (Maastrichtian stage) of what is now the area of present Morocco, about 66 million years ago. ''Tethydraco'' was originally assigned to the family Pteranodontidae. Some researchers argued that subsequently described material suggests that it may have been an azhdarchid, and possibly synonymous with '' Phosphatodraco'', though this has been disputed. The type and only species is ''T. regalis''. Discovery and naming Since 2015, a group of paleontologists has been acquiring pterosaur fossils from commercial Moroccan fossil traders, who obtain these from workers in the phosphate mines on the Khouribga plateau, which is located within the Ouled Abdoun Basin. The purpose of this project is to determine pterosaur diversity in the latest Cretaceous. From this stage, no Konservat-Lagerstätten are known, sites combining a large variety of species with exceptional preservation. It is in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithocheiromorpha
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 have been discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera have been 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 pteranodontians 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 pterosaur wingspans, such as the one estimated for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geosternbergia
''Pteranodon sternbergi'' is an extinct species of the pteranodontid pterodactyloid pterosaur genus ''Pteranodon'' from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America. ''P. sternbergi'' was among the largest pterosaurs, with a wingspan of up to in males. It has been argued that ''P. sternbergi'' should be classified in a separate genus, ''Geosternbergia'', but this has not been followed by most other researchers. Discovery and history The first fossils of ''Pteranodon sternbergi'' were collected by American paleontologist George F. Sternberg in 1952 from the lower portion of the Niobrara Formation. The fossils of the animal looked similar to those of the species ''Pteranodon longiceps'', but the crests were set upright and in a slightly different position. In 1958, Sternberg and paleontologist Myrl V. Walker published a study about this peculiar find. In 1966, American paleontologist John Christian Harksen assigned the specimens found as a new species of ''Pteranodon' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodon Longiceps
''Pteranodon'' (; from and ) is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of over . They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama. More fossil specimens of ''Pteranodon'' have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway. When the first fossils of ''Pteranodon'' were found, they were assigned to toothed pterosaur genera, ''Ornithocheirus'' and ''Pterodactylus''. In 1876, Othniel Charles Marsh recognised it as a genus of its own, making particular note of its complete lack of teeth, which at the time was unique among pterosaurs. Over the decades, multiple species would be assigned to ''Pteranodon'', though today, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithostoma
''Ornithostoma'' (meaning "bird mouth") is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period (Albian stage) of Europe, around 110 million years ago. ''Ornithostoma'' was once thought to have been a senior synonym of the pteranodontid ''Pteranodon'' due to its toothless anatomy and prior naming. History In 1869, Harry Govier Seeley, cataloguing the fossils of the Sedgwick Museum at Cambridge, referred three snout fragments of toothless pterosaur specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Albian Cambridge Greensand of England to ''Ornithocheirus simus''. These fragments had in 1859 been described by Richard Owen (who considered the later holotype jaw fragment part of a metacarpal) and referred to ''Pterodactylus sedgwickii'' and ''Pterodactylus fittoni''. By 1871 Seeley had realised ''Ornithocheirus simus'' was a toothed form, different from the fragments. Therefore, he provisionally named them as a separate genus ''Ornithostoma'', the name derived from Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontia
Pteranodontia is an extinct group of ornithocheiroid pterodactyloid pterosaurs. It lived during the Late Cretaceous (Turonian to Maastrichtian stages) of North America, South America, Europe and Africa. They were some of the most advanced pterosaurs, and possessed highly specialized cranial crests that may have served as sexual attraction, with males having a much larger crest. Classification Pteranodontia was originally named by Marsh in 1876. In 2003, it was given a phylogenetic definition by David Unwin as the common ancestor of ''Pteranodon'' and ''Nyctosaurus'' plus all its descendants. Though Marsh had originally named this group based on the shared absence of teeth in those species, most analyses show that all of the traditional "ornithocheiroid" pterosaurs are also members of this clade. Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic placement of this group from Andres and Myers (2013). In 2018, Longrich, Martill, and Andres revisited the classification and proposed a di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
