An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências

Xiaolin Wang²  Alexander W.a. Kellner¹  Shunxing Jiang²  Xi Meng² 

[1] ,Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates Beijing,China

关键词: Pterosauria;    Wukongopterus;    ?Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous;    Liaoning;    China;    Pterosauria;    Wukongopterus;    ?Jurássico Superior-Cretáceo Inferior;    Liaoning;    China;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0001-37652009000400016

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

A new long-tailed pterosaur, Wukongopterus lii gen. et sp. nov, is described based on an almost complete skeleton (IVPP V15113) representing an individual with an estimated wing span of 730 mm. The specimen was discovered in strata that possibly represent the Daohugou Bed (or Daohugou Formation) at Linglongta, Jianchang, Liaoning Province, China. Wukongopterus lii is a non-pterodactyloid pterosaur diagnosed by the first two pairs of premaxillary teeth protruding beyond the dentary, elongated cervical vertebrae (convergent with Pterodactyloidea), and a strongly curved second pedal phalanx of the fifth toe. The specimen further has a broken tibia that indicates an injury occurred while the individual was still alive. Taphonomic aspects provide indirect evidence of an uropatagium, supporting the general hypothesis that at least all non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs show a membrane between the hind limbs. A phylogenetic analysis including most non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs shows that Wukongopterus lii gen. et sp. nov. lies outside the Novialoidea, being cladistically more primitive than the Rhamphorhynchidae and Capylognathoides. This analysis differs from previous studies and indicates that more work is needed before a stable picture of non-pterodactyloid pterosaur relationships is achieved.

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