Haopterus

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Haopterus
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Holotype of Haopterus gracilis
Holotype fossil specimen, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Clade: †
Lanceodontia
Clade: †
Istiodactyliformes
Clade: †Mimodactylidae
Genus: †Haopterus
Wang & Lü, 2001
Type species
†Haopterus gracilis
Wang & Lü, 2001

Haopterus is a

China
. Its fossil remains dated back 124.6 million years ago.

Discovery and naming

It was in 2001 named by

metatarsals
.

The genus is based on

dorsal vertebrae, partial pelvis
and metatarsals.

Description

Graphic model of the tongue of Haopterus (top) in comparison with that of Liaoxipterus (bottom)
H. gracilis specimen BMNHC Ph767 skull, National Museum of Natural Science

The skull of Haopterus is with a length of 145 millimeters (5.7 in) long and low, lacking a crest. The snout is pointed but rounded. The

teeth
are robust, sharp, pointed, and curving backwards. To the front they gradually increase in length and point more to the front. The first three pairs in the praemaxilla are very small though; the describers assumed these were replacement teeth, recently erupted.

The back of the skull and the cervical vertebrae are strongly crushed, obscuring most details. Eight dorsal vertebrae are preserved, with a total length of 52 millimeters (2.0 in). The sternum was fan-shaped with a prominent keel. The wings are robustly built; the ulna is with 101 millimeters (4.0 in) longer than the wing metacarpal which has a length of 89 millimeters (3.5 in). The wingspan of the type individual was estimated at 1.35 meter (4.43 ft). In comparison, the hindlimbs must have been weakly built, the metatarsal having a length of just 17 millimeters (0.67 in).

Phylogeny

Haopterus was by Wang classified as a member of the

cladistic analysis by Lü showed it was a basal member of the Ornithocheiroidea sensu Unwin (2003).[1] Later, an analysis by Kellner et al., 2019 showed Haopterus to be a close relative of Mimodactylus. Together they form the family Mimodactylidae, which is the sister group to the Istiodactylidae.[2]

The cladogram below follows Witton's 2012 analysis:[3]

Pterodactylus antiquus

Pteranodon longiceps

Coloborhynchus spielbergi

Hongshanopterus lacustris

Haopterus gracilis

Istiodactylidae

Nurhachius ignaciobritoi

Longchengpterus zhaoi

Istiodactylus latidens

Istiodactylus sinensis

Liaoxipterus brachyognathus

Teeth (below) compared to those of Mimodactylus

The cladogram below is a topology recovered by Kellner et al. (2019). In the analyses, they recovered Haopterus as the sister taxon of

Istiodactyliformes.[4]

Istiodactyliformes

Paleobiology

The authors concluded that its slender hindfeet meant that it was forced to move

quadrupedally on land, suggesting a piscivore lifestyle as a specialised soarer.[5] Although its close relative Mimodactylus was considered to be a faunivore feeding on crustaceans, suggested by Kellner et al., 2019.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lü Junchang and Ji Qiang (2006), "Preliminary results of a phylogenetic analysis of the pterosaurs from western Liaoning and surrounding area", Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea 22 (1): 239–261
  2. PMID 31784545
    .
  3. PMID 22470442
    .
  4. ^
    PMC 6884559
    .
  5. ^ Wang X. and Lü J. (2001). Discovery of a pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Chinese Science Bulletin 45(12):447–454.

External links

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