Azhdarchoidea

Azhdarchoids Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possible Late Jurassic record[1]
Reconstructed skeleton of Quetzalcoatlus northropi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Clade:	†Ornithocheiroidea
Clade:	†Azhdarchoidea Nesov, 1984
Subgroups
†Argentinadraco †Leptostomia? †Montanazhdarcho †Ornithostoma †Neoazhdarchia †Tapejaromorpha †Azhdarchomorpha †Cretornis? †Microtuban †Xericeps †Dsungaripteromorpha? †Dsungaripteridae † Thalassodromidae ? †Alanqidae? †Alanqa †Keresdrakon? †Neopterodactyloidea †Eoazhdarcho †Chaoyangopteridae †Azhdarchiformes †Radiodactylus †Azhdarchidae

Azhdarchoidea (or azhdarchoids) is a group of

In 1996, Alexander Kellner created a different clade called Tapejaroidea, which he defined as the most recent common ancestor and all descendants of Tapejara, Quetzalcoatlus, and Dsungaripterus. Kellner created this clade to include both Azhdarchoidea and the family Dsungaripteridae, but as separate groups.^[5][6] A lot of recent studies have followed this concept.^{[7][8][9][10]}

There are competing theories of azhdarchoid phylogeny; it is either recovered as closely related to the clade

Azhdarchoidea

Tapejaromorpha Bennettazhia oregonensis Eopteranodon lii "Sinopterus" gui Nemicolopterus crypticus Huaxiapterus jii Tapejaridae Neoazhdarchia Dsungaripteromorpha Dsungaripteridae Dsungaripterinae Dsungaripterus weii Domeykodactylus ceciliae Noripterinae Noripterus parvus Noripterus complicidens Thalassodrominae Thalassodromeus sethi Tupuxuara longicristatus Tupuxuara leonardii Neopterodactyloidea Chaoyangopteridae Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis Chaoyangopterinae Shenzhoupterus chaoyangensis Chaoyangopterus zhangi Jidapterus edentus Azhdarchidae Azhdarcho lancicollis Quetzalcoatlinae Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis Arambourgiania philadelphiae Quetzalcoatlus northropi

The result of a more recent phylogenetic analysis, by Kellner and colleagues in 2019, had recovered Azhdarchoidea within the larger group Tapejaroidea. Unlike the analysis by Andres and colleagues, Kellner and colleagues had found Azhdarchoidea to only consist of three groups: Azhdarchidae, Chaoyangopteridae, and Tapejaromorpha. Their cladogram is shown below.^[10]

Tapejaroidea

Dsungaripteridae Dsungaripterus weii Noripterus parvus Azhdarchoidea Azhdarchidae Azhdarcho lancicollis Quetzalcoatlus northropi Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis Chaoyangopteridae Chaoyangopterus zhangi Jidapterus edentus Shenzhoupterus chaoyangensis Tapejaromorpha Keresdrakon vilsoni Tapejaridae Thalassodrominae Thalassodromeus sethi Tupuxuara leonardii Tapejarinae Caupedactylus ybaka Aymberedactylus cearensis Eopteranodon lii "Huaxiapterus" benxiensis "Huaxiapterus" corollatus Sinopterus dongi Tapejarini Europejara olcadesorum Caiuajara dobruskii Tapejara wellnhoferi Tupandactylus imperator

In 2022, Pêgas et al. named and officially registered two new clades: Azhdarchomorpha, the most inclusive clade containing Azhdarcho but not Tapejara or Thalassodromeus, and Alanqidae, containing Alanqa but not Chaoyangopterus or Azhdarcho. Their phylogeny is shown below:^[13]

References