Huanhepterus
| Huanhepterus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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| Skeletal restoration showing preserved elements in white and impressions in grey | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Ctenochasmatidae |
| Subfamily: | † Gnathosaurinae
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| Genus: | †Huanhepterus Dong, 1982 |
| Type species | |
| †Huanhepterus quingyangensis Dong, 1982
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Huanhepterus is an
History
The genus was named by Dong Zhiming in 1982. The type species is Huanhepterus quingyangensis. The genus name refers to the Huang Jian (not the Yellow River or "Huang He", but a smaller tributary of the Jinghe River in Gansu), and combines it with a Latinized Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name refers to Qinyang County.
Huanhepterus is based on the holotype specimen, IVPP V9070, a partial articulated skeleton consisting mostly of impressions of the left half of the body and the beak-end of the skull. The fossil was in May 1978 found in a quarry operated by the Sanshilipu-commune, when an explosion exposed a vertebra. Its force obliterated the right half of the specimen. IVPP V9070 hails from the Early Cretaceous-age Hanhe-Huachi Formation of the Zhidan Group.
Description
Huanhepterus had a long, low skull, with a low crest running along the midline that was higher toward the tip of the snout and became smaller toward the eyes. The
Classification
Below is
| Ctenochasmatidae |
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Biology
Like Gnathosaurus, it may have used its tightly-packed, slender teeth to filter food from water.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Dong, Z.-M. (1982). On a new Pterosauria (Huanhepterus quingyangensis gen.et. sp.nov.) from Ordos, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 20(2):115-121.
- PMID 24768054.
- ISBN 0-7607-0154-7.
External links
- Huanhepterus in The Pterosauria