DOCSLIB.ORG

University of Birmingham an Analysis of Pterosaurian Biogeography

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
University of Birmingham an Analysis of Pterosaurian Biogeography University of Birmingham An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography : implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates Upchurch, Paul; Andres, Brian; Butler, Richard J.; Barrett, Paul M. DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2014.939077 License: Other (please specify with Rights Statement) Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (Harvard): Upchurch, P, Andres, B, Butler, RJ & Barrett, PM 2014, 'An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography : implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates', Historical Biology A Journal of Paleobiology, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2014.939077 Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal Publisher Rights Statement: © 2014 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted. Eligibility for repository : checked 7/08/2014 General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain. Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive. If you believe that this is the case for this document, please contact [email protected] providing details and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate. Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 This article was downloaded by: [University of Birmingham] On: 07 August 2014, At: 06:22 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ghbi20 An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates Paul Upchurcha, Brian Andresb, Richard J. Butlerc & Paul M. Barrettd a Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK b Department of Geology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, SCA528, Tampa, FL 33630, USA c School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK d Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK Published online: 28 Jul 2014. To cite this article: Paul Upchurch, Brian Andres, Richard J. Butler & Paul M. Barrett (2014): An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates, Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology, DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2014.939077 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2014.939077 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Versions of published Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open articles and Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open Select articles posted to institutional or subject repositories or any other third-party website are without warranty from Taylor & Francis of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Any opinions and views expressed in this article are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions It is essential that you check the license status of any given Open and Open Select article to confirm conditions of access and use. Historical Biology, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2014.939077 An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates Paul Upchurcha*, Brian Andresb, Richard J. Butlerc and Paul M. Barrettd aDepartment of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK; bDepartment of Geology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, SCA528, Tampa, FL 33630, USA; cSchool of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; dDepartment of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK (Received 24 April 2014; accepted 24 June 2014) The biogeographical history of pterosaurs has received very little treatment. Here, we present the first quantitative analysis of pterosaurian biogeography based on an event-based parsimony method (Treefitter). This approach was applied to a phylogenetic tree comprising the relationships of 108 in-group pterosaurian taxa, spanning the full range of this clade’s stratigraphical and geographical extent. The results indicate that there is no support for the impact of vicariance or coherent dispersal on pterosaurian distributions. However, this group does display greatly elevated levels of sympatry. Although sampling biases and taxonomic problems might have artificially elevated the occurrence of sympatry, we argue that our results probably reflect a genuine biogeographical signal. We propose a novel model to explain pterosaurian distributions: pterosaurs underwent a series of ‘sweep-stakes’ dispersal events (across oceanic barriers in most cases), resulting in the founding of sympatric clusters of taxa. Examination of the spatiotemporal distributions of pterosaurian occurrences indicates that their fossil record is extremely patchy. Thus, while there is likely to be genuine information on pterosaurian diversity and biogeographical patterns in the current data-set, caution is required in its interpretation. Keywords: dispersal; diversity; pterosaur; sympatry; Treefitter; vicariance 1. Introduction these and other hypotheses by applying a cladistic After their origin in the Middle or Late Triassic, pterosaurs biogeographical analysis using Treefitter 1.2b (Ronquist acquired a virtually global distribution and their remains 1998; Sanmartin and Ronquist 2004), to a recent are now known from every continent, including Antarctica phylogeny for pterosaurs (Andres et al. 2014) termed (Barrett et al. 2008; see Fossilworks and The Paleobiology here the ‘reference phylogeny’ (Figures 1 and 2), in order Database). As with dinosaurs and many other clades, to determine whether there is any statistical support for pterosaurian evolution took place against a backdrop of particular distribution patterns. Such analyses also enable profound changes in palaeogeography driven by the an assessment of the relative importance of processes such fragmentation of Pangaea, major fluctuations in sea level as vicariance, dispersal, extinction and sympatric specia- and shifts in climatic zones. It is therefore surprising that tion in pterosaurian evolution. Finally, we end with a brief there has been very little detailed study of pterosaurian discussion of the quality of the pterosaurian fossil record biogeographical history (though see Unwin 1996; Wang and future requirements and prospects for further work on et al. 2005, 2007, 2012). This neglect may reflect the the biogeographical history of this clade. Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 06:22 07 August 2014 intense focus on the flight mechanics of these organisms, and/or the implicit assumption that the geographical distributions of flying organisms are affected more by 2. Pterosaurian distributions through space and time
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Pterosaur Distribution in Time and Space: an Atlas 61
    Zitteliana An International Journal of Palaeontology and Geobiology Series B/Reihe B Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Pa lä on to lo gie und Geologie B28 DAVID W. E. HONE & ERIC BUFFETAUT (Eds) Flugsaurier: pterosaur papers in honour of Peter Wellnhofer CONTENTS/INHALT Dedication 3 PETER WELLNHOFER A short history of pterosaur research 7 KEVIN PADIAN Were pterosaur ancestors bipedal or quadrupedal?: Morphometric, functional, and phylogenetic considerations 21 DAVID W. E. HONE & MICHAEL J. BENTON Contrasting supertree and total-evidence methods: the origin of the pterosaurs 35 PAUL M. BARRETT, RICHARD J. BUTLER, NICHOLAS P. EDWARDS & ANDREW R. MILNER Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas 61 LORNA STEEL The palaeohistology of pterosaur bone: an overview 109 S. CHRISTOPHER BENNETT Morphological evolution of the wing of pterosaurs: myology and function 127 MARK P. WITTON A new approach to determining pterosaur body mass and its implications for pterosaur fl ight 143 MICHAEL B. HABIB Comparative evidence for quadrupedal launch in pterosaurs 159 ROSS A. ELGIN, CARLOS A. GRAU, COLIN PALMER, DAVID W. E. HONE, DOUGLAS GREENWELL & MICHAEL J. BENTON Aerodynamic characters of the cranial crest in Pteranodon 167 DAVID M. MARTILL & MARK P. WITTON Catastrophic failure in a pterosaur skull from the Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil 175 MARTIN LOCKLEY, JERALD D. HARRIS & LAURA MITCHELL A global overview of pterosaur ichnology: tracksite distribution in space and time 185 DAVID M. UNWIN & D. CHARLES DEEMING Pterosaur eggshell structure and its implications for pterosaur reproductive biology 199 DAVID M. MARTILL, MARK P. WITTON & ANDREW GALE Possible azhdarchoid pterosaur remains from the Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) of England 209 TAISSA RODRIGUES & ALEXANDER W.
    [Show full text]
  • New Ctenochasmatid Pterosaur Found from the Lower Cretaceous of China 16 December 2011
    New Ctenochasmatid Pterosaur found from the lower cretaceous of China 16 December 2011 unearthed. Five genera and species of ctenochasmatids has been reported before in China: Huanhepterus quingyangensis, Beipiaopterus chenianus, Cathayopterus grabaui, Gegepterus changae and Elanodactylus prolatus. Beipiaopterus and Elanodactylus are known only postcranial skeletons, whereas Huanhepterus, Cathayopterus and Gegepterus have partial or nearly complete skulls. Pterofiltrus qiui differs from other ctenochasmatid Fig. 1: Pterofiltrus qiui gen. et sp. nov., IVPP V12339; pterosaurs by the following combination of photograph (A); line drawing (B) showing the general characters: about 112 teeth in total (including the position of the elements; their relationship (C), blue, upper and lower jaws); the dentition occupies more rostrum; green, mandible; red, posterior part of the skull; than 50% of the skull length; the anterior teeth vary white, indeterminate. Credit: JIANG Shunxing in size; the mandibular symphysis is longer than half of the whole mandible length; in ventral view, an apparent symphyseal trough in the median part of the symphysis. Drs. JIANG Shunxing and WANG Xiaolin from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and "Pterofiltrus qiui is assigned to the Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Ctenochasmatidae based on the extremely Sciences, described a new ctenochasmatid elongated rostrum, a large number of slender teeth, pterosaur, Pterofiltus qiui gen. et sp. nov., from the and the upper anterior teeth inclined Lower Cretaceous deposits of Liaoning, China, as ventroanteriorly", said WANG Xiaolin, coauthor and reported in Annals of the Brazilian Academy of research designer, "The Jehol Biota comprises Sciences (2011) 83(4): 1243-1249, providing many pterosaurs and ctenochasmatids play a very further information on the global distribution of the important role.
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Progress in the Study of Pterosaurs from China
    BCAS Vol.24 No.2 2010 Recent Progress in the Study of Pterosaurs from China WANG Xiaolin1*, JIANG Shunxing1, MENG Xi1 and CHENG Xin1,2 1 Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS, Beijing 100044, China 2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China terosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to be in the study of pterosaurs from China. able to fly in the sky. They existed from the Late PTriassic to the end of the Cretaceous (about 220 to 65 The smallest, swallow-sized arboreal million years ago), when the land was ruled by another kind pterosaur of reptile—dinosaurs. Pterosaurs consist of the long-tailed Rhamphorhynchoidea and the short-tailed Pterodactyloidea. Can you imagine a pterosaur as tiny as a swallow? It The former is a basal group and the latter is more derived. did exist about 120 million years ago. Despite representing Before the 1990s, there was sporadic pterosaur record an immature individual, Nemicolopterus crypticus (Wang in China. Young Chung-chien (C. C. Young), the doyen of et al., 2008) is neither a hatching nor a newborn based on Chinese vertebrate paleontology, reported the first Chinese the ossification of the skeleton. With a wingspan of 25 cm, pterosaur bones from Laiyang of Shandong Province in it is only slightly bigger than a newborn from the Solnhofen 1958. Later, a number of pterosaurs were described such Limestone, which has a wingspan of 18 mm. This makes it as Dsungaripterus weii, Noripterus complicidens from the smallest pterosaur so far known in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Lower Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
    Isolated teeth of Anhangueria (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia Tom Brougham1, Elizabeth T. Smith2 and Phil R. Bell1 1 School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia 2 Australian Opal Centre, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia ABSTRACT The fossil record of Australian pterosaurs is sparse, consisting of only a small number of isolated and fragmentary remains from the Cretaceous of Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Here, we describe two isolated pterosaur teeth from the Lower Cretaceous (middle Albian) Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge (New South Wales) and identify them as indeterminate members of the pterodactyloid clade Anhangueria. This represents the first formal description of pterosaur material from New South Wales. The presence of one or more anhanguerian pterosaurs at Lightning Ridge correlates with the presence of `ornithocheirid' and Anhanguera-like pterosaurs from the contemporaneous Toolebuc Formation of central Queensland and the global distribution attained by ornithocheiroids during the Early Cretaceous. The morphology of the teeth and their presence in the estuarine- and lacustrine-influenced Griman Creek Formation is likely indicative of similar life habits of the tooth bearer to other members of Anhangueria. Subjects Paleontology, Taxonomy Keywords Pterosauria, Cretaceous, Australia, Teeth Submitted 11 January 2017 Accepted 31 March 2017 Published 3 May 2017 INTRODUCTION Corresponding author Tom Brougham, Pterosaurs first appeared in the Late Triassic and diversified rapidly into the Jurassic. [email protected] At the peak of their diversity in the Cretaceous, pterosaurs where present on all Academic editor Andrew Farke continents, including Antarctica (Barrett et al., 2008; Upchurch et al., 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Pterosaur Cladogram 233 Taxa
    Pterosaur Cladogram 233 taxa - 184 characters - Peters 2017 78 Jianchangnathus Huehuecuetzpalli Sordes 2585 3 Macrocnemus BES SC111 79 96 Macrocnemus T4822 Pterorhynchus Macrocnemus T2472 67 100 Changchengopterus PMOL Dinocephalosaurus 89 Wukongopterus Amotosaurus 98 89 95 Archaeoistiodactylus Fuyuansaurus 82 97 Kunpengopterus 95 100 Tanystropheus MSNM BES SC1018 Darwinopterus AMNH M8802 Tanystropheus T/2819 81 97 Darwinopterus modularis ZMNH M 8782 82 Langobardisaurus 97 59 Darwinopterus robustodens 41H111-0309A Tanytrachelos 100 Darwinopterus linglongtaensis IVPP V 16049 Darwinopterus YH2000 89 Cosesaurus 100 Sharovipteryx Longisquama Scaphognathus crassirostris 100 62 Scaphognathus SMNS 59395 Bergamodactylus MPUM 6009 Scaphognathus Maxberg sp. 99 Raeticodactylus 97 Austriadactylus SMNS 56342 83 TM 13104 Austriadactylus SC332466 79 Gmu10157 98 BM NHM 42735 77 Preondactylus 100 100 BSp 1986 XV 132 94 MCSNB 2887 ELTE V 256-Pester specimen Dimorphodon macronyx 78 97 95 99 B St 1936 I 50 (n30) Peteinosaurus Ex3359 Cycnorhamphus 94 Carniadactylus 97 99 99 Moganopterus 93 MCSNB 8950 Feilongus 91 74 Dimorphodon? weintraubi 91 71 IVPP V13758 embryo Yixianopterus Mesadactylus holotype 100 77 JZMP embryo 96 100 Haopterus Dendrorhynchoides Boreopterus 96 73 88 97 JZMP-04-07-3 Zhenyuanopterus SMNS 81928 flathead 100 80 98 Hamipterus 97 Anurognathus Arthurdactylus 69 81 CAG IG 02-81 SMNK PAL 3854 95 PIN 2585/4 flightless anurognthid 86 Ikrandraco 87 Batrachognathus 98 98 79 Coloborhynchus spielbergi 89 Daohugoupterus Criorhynchus Jeholopterus 64
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of Morphological Disparity in Pterosaurs Katherine C
    Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, Vol. 9, Issue 3, September 2011, 337–353 Evolution of morphological disparity in pterosaurs Katherine C. Prentice, Marcello Ruta∗ and Michael J. Benton School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK (Received 9 November 2009; accepted 22 October 2010; printed 15 September 2011) Pterosaurs were important flying vertebrates for most of the Mesozoic, from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (225–65 Ma). They varied enormously through time in overall size (with wing spans from about 250 mm to about 12 m), and in features of their cranial and postcranial skeletons. Comparisons of disparity based on discrete cladistic characters show that the basal paraphyletic rhamphorhynchoids (Triassic–Early Cretaceous) occupied a distinct, and relatively small, region of morphospace compared to the derived pterodactyloids (Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous). This separation is unexpected, especially in view of common constraints on anatomy caused by the requirements of flight. Pterodactyloid disparity shifted through time, with different, small portions of morphospace occupied in the Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous, and a much larger portion in the Early Cretaceous. This explosion in disparity after 100 Ma of evolution is matched by the highest diversity of the clade: evidently, pterosaurs express a rather ‘top heavy’ clade shape, and this is reflected in delayed morphological evolution, again an unexpected finding. The expansion of disparity among pterodactyloids was comparable across subclades: pairwise comparisons among the four pterodactyloid superfamilies show that, for the most part, these clades display significant morphological separation, except in the case of Dsungaripteroidea and Azhdarchoidea.
    [Show full text]
  • Ferrodraco Lentoni Gen. Et Sp. Nov., a New Ornithocheirid
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., a new ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Winton Formation Received: 23 May 2019 Accepted: 30 August 2019 (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) of Published: xx xx xxxx Queensland, Australia Adele H. Pentland1,2, Stephen F. Poropat1,2, Travis R. Tischler2, Trish Sloan2, Robert A. Elliott2, Harry A. Elliott2, Judy A. Elliott2 & David A. Elliott2 The Australian pterosaur record is poor by world standards, comprising fewer than 20 fragmentary specimens. Herein, we describe the new genus and species Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., based on the most complete pterosaur specimen ever found in Australia, and the frst reported from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian–lower Turonian). The presence of premaxillary and mandibular crests, and spike-shaped teeth with subcircular bases, enable Ferrodraco to be referred to Anhangueria. Ferrodraco can be distinguished from all other anhanguerian pterosaurs based on two dental characters: the frst premaxillary and mandibular tooth pairs are small; and the fourth–seventh tooth pairs are smaller than the third and eighth ones. Ferrodraco was included in a phylogenetic analysis of Pterosauria and resolved as the sister taxon to Mythunga camara (upper Albian Toolebuc Formation, Australia), with that clade occupying the most derived position within Ornithocheiridae. Ornithocheirus simus (Albian Cambridge Greensand, England), Coloborhynchus clavirostris (Valanginian Hastings Sands, England), and Tropeognathus mesembrinus (upper Aptian–lower Albian Romualdo Formation, Brazil) were resolved as successive sister taxa, which suggests that ornithocheirids were cosmopolitan during the Albian–Cenomanian. Furthermore, the stratigraphic age of Ferrodraco lentoni (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) implies that anhanguerians might have survived later in Australia than elsewhere.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of the Pterosaur Pelvis Author(S): Elaine S
    Evolution of the Pterosaur Pelvis Author(s): Elaine S. Hyder, Mark P. Witton and David M. Martill Source: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 59(1):109-124. Published By: Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.4202/app.2011.1109 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Evolution of the pterosaur pelvis ELAINE S. HYDER, MARK P. WITTON, and DAVID M. MARTILL Hyder, E.S., Witton, M.P., and Martill, D.M. 2014. Evolution of the pterosaur pelvis. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 59 (1): 109–124. Pterosaur pelvic girdles are complex structures that offer a wealth of phylogenetic and biomechanical information, but have been largely overlooked by pterosaur anatomists. Here, we review pterosaur pelvic morphology and find significant differences that correlate well with pterosaur clades identified in some phylogenetic analyses.
    [Show full text]
  • Page Numbers in Italic, Eg 153, Refer to Figures
    Index Page numbers in italic, e.g. 153, refer to figures. Page numbers in bold, e.g. 321, signify entries in tables. Aetosaurus ferratus 26 brachiopatagium Agadirichnus elegans 321,322-323 Azhdarchidae (indet.) 249-250 air diverticulae see pneumatization Crato Formation 250 Angustinaripterus 144, 177 Rhamphorhynchus muensteri 238,240-246 Anhanguera 123-124 Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone 234, 235-346 pectoral girdle 191-215 thermoregulation 256-259 inferred myology 201-208 Brazil osteological correlates 193-197 Crato Formation 56, 65-72, 234-235,247-250 Anhanguera blittersdorffi, skull 153 Nova Olinda Member 56-63 Anhanguera piscator 122-123 Santana Formation 234-235 Anhanguera santanae, skull 251 bone histovariability 335-342 Anhangueridae 123 Breviquartossa, definition, content, synapomorphies scapulocoracoid 73-77 155-156 ankle and pes, Triassic genera 37-39 Anurognathidae 107-111,176 Caelidracones, definition, content, synapomorphies Anurognathus ammoni 152-153, 176 152-153 phalanges 176 Campylognathoides 115-116 Ap6n Formation, Venezuela, Early Cretaceous 73-77 caudal vertebrae 18 "Araripesaurus" 178 jugal 9 Araripesaurus castilhoi 145 pectoral girdle 191-215 Archaeopterodactyloidea, definition, content, inferred myology 198-201,203-208 synapomorphies 117-119 osteologicai correlates 197 Araripe Basin, Brazil, Santana Formation 234-235 Campylognathoides liasicus Arizona, Morrison Formation 45-46 skull 152 Asiaticognathidae 107, 111-112 wing ratios 19 astragalus 37 Campylognathoididae 176 Austria, Tyrol, Eudimorphodon cf. ranzii 5-22
    [Show full text]
  • A New Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Santana Formation (Cretaceous) of Brazil
    Cretaceous Research 32 (2011) 236e243 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cretaceous Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes A new pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Santana Formation (Cretaceous) of Brazil David M. Martill School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, United Kingdom article info abstract Article history: A partial skull comprising fused maxilla/premaxilla and palate of a ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Received 13 July 2009 Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin in NE Brazil is named as the new genus and species Unwindia Accepted in revised form 1 December 2010 trigonus gen. et sp. nov. on account of its long slender rostrum, isodonty with raised dental alveoli and Available online 14 December 2010 dentition of seven tooth pairs restricted to the portion of the rostrum anterior to the nasoantorbital fenestra. Unwindia is assigned to the Ctenochasmatoidea, and is probably basal within the clade. Keywords: Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Pterosauria Ctenochasmatoidea Unwindia trigonus gen. et sp. nov. Santana Formation Brazil Early Cretaceous 1. Introduction world, surpassing the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone (Wellnhofer, 1970, 1975) and approaching the diversity of the combined Yixian Pterosaur remains are both abundant and diverse in the Santana and Jiufotang formations of the Chinese Jehol Group (Lü et al., Formation fossil Lagerstätte of Brazil with some 12 nominal genera 2006a). A new partial pterosaur skull described here indicates the (Anhanguera, Araripedactylus, Araripesaurus, Brasileodactylus, Colo- presence of a new genus and species of ctenochasmatoid pterosaur borhynchus, Cearadactylus, Criorhynchus, Pricesaurus, Santana- in the Santana Formation assemblage, a group that were wide- dactylus, Tapejara, Thalassodromeus, Tupuxuara) and an undescribed spread in the Early Cretaceous of South America.
    [Show full text]
  • (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
    Isolated teeth of Anhangueria (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia Tom Brougham1, Elizabeth T. Smith2 and Phil R. Bell1 1 School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia 2 Australian Opal Centre, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia ABSTRACT The fossil record of Australian pterosaurs is sparse, consisting of only a small number of isolated and fragmentary remains from the Cretaceous of Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Here, we describe two isolated pterosaur teeth from the Lower Cretaceous (middle Albian) Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge (New South Wales) and identify them as indeterminate members of the pterodactyloid clade Anhangueria. This represents the first formal description of pterosaur material from New South Wales. The presence of one or more anhanguerian pterosaurs at Lightning Ridge correlates with the presence of `ornithocheirid' and Anhanguera-like pterosaurs from the contemporaneous Toolebuc Formation of central Queensland and the global distribution attained by ornithocheiroids during the Early Cretaceous. The morphology of the teeth and their presence in the estuarine- and lacustrine-influenced Griman Creek Formation is likely indicative of similar life habits of the tooth bearer to other members of Anhangueria. Subjects Paleontology, Taxonomy Keywords Pterosauria, Cretaceous, Australia, Teeth Submitted 11 January 2017 Accepted 31 March 2017 Published 3 May 2017 INTRODUCTION Corresponding author Tom Brougham, Pterosaurs first appeared in the Late Triassic and diversified rapidly into the Jurassic. [email protected] At the peak of their diversity in the Cretaceous, pterosaurs where present on all Academic editor Andrew Farke continents, including Antarctica (Barrett et al., 2008; Upchurch et al., 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Pterosaurs of the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, Southern England: a Review with New Data
    ISSN (print): 1698-6180. ISSN (online): 1886-7995 www.ucm.es/info/estratig/journal.htm Journal of Iberian Geology 36 (2) 2010: 225-242 doi:10.5209/rev_JIGE.2010.v36.n2.9 Pterosaurs of the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England: a review with new data Pterosaurios de la Formación Wessex (Cretácico inferior, Barremiense) de la Isla de Wight, sur de Inglaterra: revisión y nuevos hallazgos S. C. Sweetman, D. M. Martill Palaeobiology Research Group, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, United Kingdom [email protected], [email protected] Received: 20/11/09 / Accepted: 30/06/10 Abstract Micropalaeontological processing of vertebrate-bearing horizons within the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England, reveals a rare, but diverse assemblage of pterosaurs. Besides the previously known euorni- thocheiran Caulkicephalus, the new material demonstrates the presence of three species of istiodactylid, a ctenochasmatid, and a distinct form that cannot easily be placed in a higher taxon. This elevated diversity is in keeping with pterosaur diversity from other Early Cretaceous localities, having some similarities with assemblages from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, China and Spain. The apparent absence of toothless forms in the Wessex Formation may represent a preservation bias or collecting artefact. Keywords: Pterosauria, Early Cretaceous, Wessex Formation, England, Palaeobiodiversity Resumen El análisis micropaleontológico de los niveles estratigráficos ricos en vertebrados del Barremiense (Cretácico Inferior) de la Formación Wessex en la Isla de Wight al sur de Inglaterra, demuestra la presencia de una escasa aunque diversa asociación de pte- rosaurios.
    [Show full text]