Chaoyangopterids
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 125–120 Ma
↓
 Possible Late Cretaceous record[1][2]
Holotype specimen of Jidapterus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Clade: †Neoazhdarchia
Family: †Chaoyangopteridae
Lü et al., 2008
Type species
†Chaoyangopterus zhangi
Wang & Zhou, 2003
Genera

Chaoyangopteridae (or chaoyangopterids) is a family of pterosaurs within the larger group Azhdarchoidea. Chaoyangopterids lived mostly during the Early Cretaceous period, though possible members, Microtuban, Xericeps and Argentinadraco, may extend the fossil range to the Late Cretaceous.[1][6]

History

The clade Chaoyangopteridae was first defined in 2008 by Lü Junchang and David Unwin as: "Chaoyangopterus, Shenzhoupterus, their most recent common ancestor and all taxa more closely related to this clade than to Tapejara, Tupuxuara or Quetzalcoatlus".[7] Based on neck and limb proportions, it has been suggested they occupied a similar ecological niche to that of azhdarchid pterosaurs,[8] though it is possible they were more specialized as several genera occur in Liaoning, while azhdarchids usually occur by one genus in a specific location.[9]

Description

Chaoyangopterids are distinguished from other pterosaurs by several traits of the nasoantorbital fenestra, a large hole on the side of the snout formed by the assimilation of the nares (nostril holes) into the antorbital fenestra. In members of this family, the nasoantorbital fenestra is massive, with the rear edge extending as far back as the braincase and jaw joint. The front edge is formed by a rod of bone known as the premaxillary bar, which is unusually slender in members of this family.[7]

Classification

Comparison of azhdarchoid mandibles, notice the chaoyangopterids Shenzhoupterus (K) and Chaoyangopterus (L)

Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic analysis conducted by paleontologist Brian Andres and colleagues in 2014. In the analysis, Chaoyangopteridae was found to consist of the genus Eoazhdarcho and the subfamily Chaoyangopterinae.[10] The subfamily Chaoyangopterinae was initially used by paleontologist Felipe Pinheiro and colleagues in 2011, which they assigned to the family Tapejaridae,[11] however, Andres and colleagues redefined the subfamily as the least inclusive clade containing Chaoyangopterus zhangi and Shenzhoupterus chaoyangensis. In the analysis by Andres and colleagues, Chaoyangopterinae consisted of the pterosaurs Chaoyangopterus, Shenzhoupterus, and Jidapterus.[10]

Neoazhdarchia

A 2021 study focused on Aerotitan recovers Xericeps and Argentinadraco as sister taxa within Chaoyangopteridae.[12]

Chaoyangopteridae

Paleobiology

Diet

Like their azhdarchid relatives, pterosaurs that belong to the Chaoyangopteridae were terrestrial predators.[13][14]

Paleoecology

The members of the family Chaoyangopteridae are mostly known from Asia, though the possible member Lacusovagus occurs in South America[9] and there are possible fossil remains from Africa, including the possible member Apatorhamphus.[15] Microtuban may extend the clade's existence into the early Late Cretaceous.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Ross A. Elgin and Eberhard Frey (2011). "A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon". Swiss Journal of Geosciences. 104: 21–33. doi:10.1007/s00015-011-0081-1. S2CID 128405107.
  2. ^ Pêgas, R.V.; Holgado, B.; Ortiz David, L.D.; Baiano, M.A.; Costa, F.R. (August 21, 2021). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104998. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  3. ^ Pêgas, R.V.; Holgado, B.; Ortiz David, L.D.; Baiano, M.A.; Costa, F.R. (August 21, 2021). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104998. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  4. ^ Wang, Xiaolin; Kellner, Alexander W. A.; Jiang, Shunxing; Chen, He; Costa, Fabiana R.; Cheng, Xin; Zhang, Xinjun; Nova, Bruno C. Vila; de Almeida Campos, Diogenes; Sayão, Juliana M.; Rodrigues, Taissa; Bantim, Renan A. M.; Saraiva, Antônio A. F.; Zhou, Zhonghe (2023-12-21). "A new toothless pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota with comments on the Chaoyangopteridae". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 22642. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-48076-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10739979.
  5. ^ Pêgas, R.V.; Holgado, B.; Ortiz David, L.D.; Baiano, M.A.; Costa, F.R. (August 21, 2021). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104998. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  6. ^ Pêgas, R.V.; Holgado, B.; Ortiz David, L.D.; Baiano, M.A.; Costa, F.R. (August 21, 2021). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. in press: Article 104998. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  7. ^ a b Lü, Junchang; Unwin, David M.; Xu, Li; Zhang, Xingliao (2008-09-01). "A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China and its implications for pterosaur phylogeny and evolution". Naturwissenschaften. 95 (9): 891–897. Bibcode:2008NW.....95..891L. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0397-5. ISSN 1432-1904. PMID 18509616. S2CID 13458087.
  8. ^ "Pterosaur.net :: Important Species".
  9. ^ a b Witton, Mark P. (2008). "A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Aptian?) of Brazil". Palaeontology. 51 (6): 1289–1300. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00811.x.
  10. ^ a b Andres, B.; Clark, J.; Xu, X. (2014). "The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group". Current Biology. 24 (9): 1011–6. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.030. PMID 24768054.
  11. ^ Pinheiro, Felipe L.; Fortier, Daniel C.; Schultz, Cesar L.; De Andrade, José Artur F.G.; Bantim, Renan A.M. (September 2011). "New Information on the Pterosaur, with Comments on the Relationships of Tapejaridae". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 56 (3): 567–580. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0057.
  12. ^ Pêgas, R.V.; Holgado, B.; Ortiz David, L.D.; Baiano, M.A.; Costa, F.R. (21 August 2021). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  13. ^ a b Wilton, Mark P. (2013). Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691150613.
  14. ^ Wen-Hao Wu; Chang-Fu Zhou; Brian Andres (2017). "The toothless pterosaur Jidapterus edentus (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota and its paleoecological implications". PLoS ONE. 12 (9): e0185486. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185486.
  15. ^ James McPhee; Nizar Ibrahim; Alex Kao; David M. Unwin; Roy Smith; David M. Martill (2020). "A new ?chaoyangopterid (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Southern Morocco". Cretaceous Research. 110: Article 104410. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104410. S2CID 213739173.
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