''Gegepterus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ctenochasmatid Ctenochasmatidae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They are characterized by their distinctive teeth, which are thought to have been used for filter-feeding. Ctenochasmatids lived from the Late Jurassic to the Early ...

pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

period of what is now the

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly Romanization of Chinese, transcribed as Yihsien Formation or Yixiang Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. I ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Only one species is known, ''G. changi''.

History and etymology

The genus was named in 2007 by

Wang Xiaolin Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

Alexander Kellner Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner (born September 26, 1961) is a Brazilian geologist and paleontologist who is a leading expert in the field of studying pterosaurs. His research has focused mainly on fossil reptiles from the Cretaceous Period, i ...

, Zhou Zhonge and

Diogenes de Almeida Campos Diogenes the Cynic, also known as Diogenes of Sinope (c. 413/403–c. 324/321 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism. Renowned for his ascetic lifestyle, biting wit, and radical critiques of social convention ...

. The type species is ''Gegepterus changi''. The genus, generic name is derived from Manchu language, Manchu ''ge ge'', the title of a princess, in reference to the dainty gracility of the specimen, and a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The specific name (zoology), specific name honors female paleontologist Chang Meemann, who over the years established a cordial relationship between the Chinese and Brazilian authors. In 2008 Wang emended the epithet to ''changae'', but such changes are no longer allowed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, ICZN. It is known from two specimens. The first is holotype IVPP V 11981, which was in 2001 found in grey shales from the lower part of the rock formation, formation (estimated at 125 million years old), near the city of Beipiao. It consists of a crushed and damaged partial skeleton of a juvenile (organism), subadult including skull, lower jaws, cervical and sacral vertebrae, ribs, gastralium, gastralia ("belly ribs"), shoulder girdle and hindlimb remains, along with dark soft tissue remains near the skull and gastralia and in the orbit; unfortunately, the soft tissue remains show no structure except for some small, unbranched fibers at the back of the head. The jaws are very elongated; the snout is flat and concave on top, with a low and thin crest. The forehead slightly projects to the front. The cervicals are elongated.Wang, X., Kellner, A.W.A., Zhou, Z., and Campos, D.A. (2007). "A new pterosaur (Ctenochasmatidae, Archaeopterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China." ''Cretaceous Research'', 28(2): 2245-260. In 2011, a second, smaller specimen was described, IVPP V 11972, which increased the known skeletal elements and showed a more extensive covering of hair-like structures.Jiang Shun-Xing & Wang Xiao-Lin, 2011, "Important features of ''Gegepterus changae'' (Pterosauria: Archaeopterodactyloidea, Ctenochasmatidae) from a new specimen", ''Vertebrata PalAsiatica'' 49(2): 172-184 http://www.ivpp.cas.cn/cbw/gjzdwxb/xbwzxz/201105/P020110530510419201105.pdf

Classification

The authors assigned ''Gegepterus'' to the Ctenochasmatidae, on the basis of its long beak, rostrum and numerous needle-like teeth, about 150 in total. This is the first uncontroversial report of the Ctenochasmatidae from the Yixian Formation, as the fossils of other assumed ctenochasmatids have not preserved the dentition. It was at first suspected to be the juvenile of some known species. Below is cladogram following a topology by Andres, Clark and Xu (2014). In the analysis, they recovered ''Gegepterus'' within the family Ctenochasmatidae, more precisely within the tribe Pterodaustrini, sister taxon to ''Beipiaopterus''.

References

{{Portal bar, Paleontology, China Early Cretaceous pterosaurs of Asia Ctenochasmatoids Fossil taxa described in 2007 Taxa named by Alexander Kellner Yixian fauna Pterosaur genera

History and etymology

Classification

See also

References