''Longchengpterus'', sometimes misspelled as "Lonchengopterus", 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 ...

istiodactylid Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus ''Istiodactylus'' was discovered not to be a member of the genus '' Ornithodesmus''. Systematics and distribution Remains of taxa that can be c ...

pterodactyloid Pterodactyloidea ( ; derived from the Greek words ''πτερόν'' (''pterón'', for usual ''ptéryx'') "wing", and ''δάκτυλος'' (''dáktylos'') "finger") is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs ("wing lizards"), and contai ...

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

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 125.77 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma (Historically, this stage was placed at 129.4 million to approximately 125 million years ago) It is a ...

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

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also * Nizhny {{Disambiguation ...

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 ...

of Chaoyang,

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 ...

. Its fossil remains dated back about 120 million years ago.

Etymology

The genus was named in 2006 by Wang Li, Li Li,

Duan Ye Duan Ye (; died 401) was the founding prince of China's Northern Liang dynasty. He was of Han ethnicity, and was originally a commandery governor of the Later Liang dynasty, but after the Lushuihu generals Juqu Mengxun and Juqu Nancheng () r ...

and Cheng Shao-li. The genus name is derived from the old name of

Chaoyang City Chaoyang ( zh, s=朝阳, t=朝陽, p=Cháoyáng) is a prefecture-level city in western Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. With a vast land area of almost , it is by area the largest prefecture-level city in Liaoning, and borders on H ...

, ''Longcheng'', and a Latinized Greek ''pteron'', "wing". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honors

Zhao Dayu Zhao Dayu (; 17 January 1961 – 18 March 2015), also known as , was a Chinese coach, businessman and a former international football striker. He was a naturalized citizen of Japan. As a footballer he played his whole career for Guangzh ...

, the president of

Shenyang Normal University Shenyang Normal University (; SYNU) is a broad-based university in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China under the provincial government. History Shenyang Normal University was established in 1951, as Northeastern Education College. During its life ...

and a contributor to the founding of the Western Liaoning Institute of Mesozoic Paleontology.

Description

''Longchengpterus'' is based on

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 ...

LPM 00023, found at Yuanjiawa near Dapingfanga, a compressed incomplete skeleton and partial skull on a single plate. The posterior part of the skull has been damaged. It is elongated with a length of . The large skull opening, the ''fenestra nasantorbitalis'', is triangular in form and occupies much of the snout. The teeth in the upper jaw are concentrated in the front part and spaced far apart; their number is uncertain. The lower jaws have been well preserved. They are long and their

symphysis A symphysis (, : symphyses) is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint, specifically a secondary cartilaginous joint. # A symphysis is an amphiarthrosis, a slightly movable joint. # A growing together o ...

is short. Twelve teeth are present in the dentary. They have a sharp point but are laterally compressed, curving slightly inwards. The humerus, long, has a low deltopectoral crest and no pneumatic foramen. The fourth metacarpal is longer than the first phalanx of the wing finger. The wingspan was about . The pelvis has been heavily damaged. Part of a femur is present, its estimated length was .

Classification

''Longchengpterus'' has been assigned to the

Istiodactylidae Istiodactylidae is a small Family (biology), family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus ''Istiodactylus'' was discovered not to be a member of the genus ''Ornithodesmus''. Systematics and distribution Remains of t ...

sharing with ''

Istiodactylus ''Istiodactylus'' is a genus of pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 120 million years ago. The first fossil was discovered on the English Isle of Wight in 1887, and in 1901 became the holotype specimen of a new species ...

'' tooth form and count as well as a large skull opening. A notable difference is the lack of a broad snout. It was the second istiodactylid named and the first from China, adding to the known pterosaur diversity from Early Cretaceous layers of China.Wang, L., Li, L., Duan, Y., and Cheng, S.L. (2006). A new istiodactylid pterosaur from western Liaoning, China. ''Geological Bulletin of China'' 25(6):737-740. The

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

below follows Witton's 2012 analysis, wherein he found Istiodactylidae to consist of five

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

(the first three species listed are

outgroup Outgroup may refer to: * Outgroup (cladistics), an evolutionary-history concept * Outgroup (sociology) In social psychology and sociology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By cont ...

or reference taxa):

References

{{Portal bar, Paleontology, China Pteranodontoidea Early Cretaceous pterosaurs of Asia Fossil taxa described in 2006