Gladocephaloideus
Gladocephaloideus | |
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Specimen JPM 2014–004 and line drawing | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
Clade: | †Ctenochasmatoidea |
Family: | †Ctenochasmatidae |
Genus: | †Gladocephaloideus Lü et al, 2012 |
Species: | †G. jingangshanensis
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Binomial name | |
†Gladocephaloideus jingangshanensis Lü et al, 2012
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Gladocephaloideus is a
Discovery
Gladocephaloideus is known from a complete
The holotype, IG-CAGS-08-07, includes the almost complete skull, the lower jaws, the front neck vertebrae and part of a hindlimb.[1] In 2016, a second specimen was referred, JPM 2014–004, a juvenile from the Jiufotang Formation. It represents an almost complete skeleton, missing only the left hindlimb, the rear back vertebrae, the sacrum and the tail. Though the holotype was originally considered an adult, the new exemplar indicates that IG-CAGS-08-07 was a juvenile also.[2]
Description
The skull of the holotype has a length of 182 millimeters (7.2 in). In 2012 several distinguishing traits were established. The snout is elongated. The main skull opening, the fenestra nasoantorbitalis, is small with 13% of the total skull length. The part in front of it equals 63% of the skull length. The total number of teeth in the entire skull and lower jaws numbers about fifty. The teeth have sharp points.[1]
The snout has a concave upper profile. A snout crest is absent. The parietal crest on the back of the skull is low and rounded. The teeth occupy the front quarter of the upper and lower jaws. Each upper jaw has thirteen teeth, each lower jaw twelve. The first four teeth in both the upper and lower jaws are longer and strongly inclined to the front; to the rear the teeth become shorter and more perpendicular. The pycnofibres in the holotype are visible as short hairs, pointing to the rear, at the back of the skull and the neck vertebrae.
Classification
Gladocephaloideus was in 2012 placed in the