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Pterodactyliformes
Monofenestrata is a clade of pterosaurs. It includes the pterosaurs in which the nasal and antorbital fenestra (openings/holes) in the skull are merged into a single fenestra. The clade includes the pterodactyloids and their close relatives. Classification The clade Monofenestrata was in 2010 defined as the group consisting of ''Pterodactylus'' and all species sharing with ''Pterodactylus'' the synapomorphy of an external nostril confluent with the antorbital fenestra, the major skull opening on the side of the snout. The name is derived from Greek ''monos'', "single", and Latin ''fenestra'', "window". The concept was inspired by the discovery of ''Darwinopterus'', a species combining a pterodactyloid-type skull with a more basal build of the remainder of the body. The Darwinoptera, a primitive subgroup of monofenestratans showing this transitional anatomy, was also named for ''Darwinopterus'' and defined as all descendants of its common ancestor with ''Pterorhynchus''. Below i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiphosoura
''Skiphosoura'' (meaning "sword tail") is an extinct genus of pterodactyliform pterosaurs from the Late Jurassic Mörnsheim Formation of Germany. The genus contains a single species, ''S. bavarica'', known from a nearly complete skeleton including a partial skull. ''Skiphosoura'' exhibits a transitional body morphology between more basal pterosaurs and later pterodactyloids. Discovery and naming The ''Skiphosoura'' holotype specimen, LF 4157, was discovered in 2015 in sediments of the Mörnsheim Formation (Schaudiberg Quarry, Dritter Kieselflinz Layer) near Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. After its preparation, the specimen was acquired in 2020 by the Illinois (USA)-based Lauer Foundation for Paleontology, where it is permanently reposited. The specimen is disarticulated but nearly complete, missing some metapodials, vertebrae, and part of the skull. Many of the bones are preserved three-dimensionally. In 2024, Hone et al. described ''Skiphosoura bavarica'' as a new genus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
