Noripterus
| Noripterus Temporal range:
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| Photograph (left) and drawing (right) of the pes of N. complicidens | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Dsungaripteridae |
| Subfamily: | †Noripterinae Andres et al., 2014 |
| Genus: | †Noripterus Young, 1973 |
| Type species | |
| †Noripterus complicidens Young, 1973
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| Other species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Genus synonymy
Synonyms of N. parvus
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Noripterus (meaning "lake wing" from
Description
The first, holotype specimen of Noripterus (IVPP V.4062, type locality IVPP 64045) preserved the front part of the skull and lower jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs and pelvis. Noripterus was quite similar to the contemporaneous Dsungaripterus, though it was estimated to be a third shorter. It has long narrow neck vertebrae and, like Dsungaripterus, a crest and no teeth in the front of the lower jaw. The teeth that are present are well-developed and spaced fairly far apart. The sharp snout is straight and not pointed upwards as with Dsungaripterus.[1]
Classification
Because of its similarity to Dsungaripterus, Noripterus has been assigned to the family Dsungaripteridae.[2]
The genus Phobetor, was in 1982 originally described by
Assigning the "Phobetor" material to Noripterus increases the known size of the latter as it indicates a maximum wingspan of 4 meters (13 ft).[4]
Below is a
Dsungaripteromorpha
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In 2019, a different topology, this time by Kellner and colleagues, was published. In this study, Noripterus was recovered outside the Azhdarchoidea, within the larger group Tapejaroidea, sister taxon to Dsungaripterus. The cladogram of the analysis is shown below.[6]
| Tapejaroidea |
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Paleobiology and ecology
Dsungaripterids like Noripterus are interpreted as adapted for feeding on
Noripterus lived in the same time and place as the larger Dsungaripterus, in formations that indicate the presence of extensive inland lake systems. Because Noripterus had a more lightly built skull with weaker, more slender teeth than its larger contemporary, it is likely that the two pterosaurs occupied separate ecological niches.[3]
Like most dsungaripteroids, Noripterus was well adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle, bearing thick bone walls and stouty bodily proportions.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Yang, Zhongjian (1973). "Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang". Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Academia Sinica (in Chinese). 11: 18–35.
- ^ Unwin, David M. (2003) "On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs", in Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs, 139-190.
- ^ a b Lü, J., Azuma, Y., Dong, Z., Barsbold, R., Kobayashi, Y., and Lee, Y.-N. (2009), "New material of dsungaripterid pterosaurs (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from western Mongolia and its palaeoecological implications." Geological Magazine, 146(5): 690-700.
- ^ D.M. Unwin & N.N. Bakhurina (2003), "Pterosaurs from Russia, Middle Asia and Mongolia", p. 426 In: Michael J. Benton e.a. (ed.), The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia, Cambridge University Press
- PMID 24768054.
- PMID 31432888.
- ISBN 978-0-13-146308-0.
- ISBN 978-0691150611.
