''Lingyuanopterus'' () is a genus of istiodactylid

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

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

age

Jiufotang Formation The Jiufotang Formation () is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms (see Jehol Biota). It is a member of the Jehol group. T ...

in western

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 ...

. The type and only species is ''L. camposi'', known from the holotype specimen IVPP V 17940 a near complete skull, mandible and atlas-axis complex.

Etymology

''Lingyuanopterus'' was named and described in 2022 by Xu ''et al''., (2022). The type species is ''L. camposi''. The generic name is derived from the locality in which the holotype specimen was found 'Lingyuan' and the Latinized Greek noun 'pterus', meaning 'wing'. The specific name 'camposi' honours Brazilian vertebrate paleontologist Diogenes de Almeida Campos for his contribution to China-Brazil pterosaur collaborative research.

Description

''Lingyuanopterus'' is only known from the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

IVPP V 17940, which consists of a nearly complete skull, a nearly complete mandible, and an atlas-axis complex. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

margin of the skull is smooth and slightly curved, with no parietal crest/sagittal crest. The rostrum is slightly deflected dorsally, with its anterior end thicker at the ventral margin. The bones on the right side of the skull are ventrally displaced due to its

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

Classification

In Xu ''et al''., (2022) ''Lingyuanopterus'' is recovered as an istiodactylid pterosaur. Cladogram after Xu ''et al''., (2022):

Paleobiology

Xu ''et al''., (2022) suggest that ''Lingyuanopterus'' was adapted for scavenging, citing several features including the well-interlocked labiolingually compressed teeth, slender maxillae, shallow rostra and mandibular symphyses and long retroarticular processes.

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107751301 Pteranodontoidea Early Cretaceous pterosaurs of Asia Cretaceous China Fossils of China Fossil taxa described in 2022