Nurhachius

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Nurhachius
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Cast of the N. ignaciobritoi
holotype specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Family: †Istiodactylidae
Genus: †Nurhachius
Wang et al., 2005
Type species
†Nurhachius ignaciobritoi
Wang et al., 2005
Other species
  • †Nurhachius luei
    Zhou et al., 2019

Nurhachius is a

Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning
, China. Its fossil remains date back about 120 million years ago.

Discovery

Skull assigned to N. sp.

The genus was named in 2005 by

paleontologist Ignácio Aureliano Machado Brito, who pioneered the study of pterosaurs in his country.[1]

Nurhachius was first described based on its holotype fossil, IVPP V-13288, a partial skull and skeleton.[1] A second specimen, LPM 00023, was later referred to the species.[2]

In 2019, a second species was named: Nurhachius luei. The specific name honors the late Lü Junchang. It is based on the holotype BPMC-0204 from the lower Jiufotang Foramation, a skull with lower jaws and seven neck vertebrae.[3]

In 2023, a specimen representing an adult istiodactylid with a 1.6 meter-wingspan was assigned to Nurhachius sp. and described from the Jingangshan Member of the upper part of the Yixian Formation, representing the geologically oldest known record of the genus.[4]

Description

Life restoration
of N. ignaciobritoi

The wingspan of Nurhachius was estimated at 2.4 to 2.5 meters (7.87–8.20 ft).[1] In 2008, Witton estimated the wingspan at 228 centimeters (7.48 ft), and the weight at 4 kilograms (8.8 lb).

In 2019, a single

apomorphy, or unique distinguishing trait of the genus as such, was indicated: the front tip of the palate is slightly turned upwards.[3]

The skull is elongated with in the holotype a preserved length of 315 millimeters (12.4 in) and an estimated total length of about 330 millimeters (13 in). The nasoantorbital fenestra, the large skull opening, is relatively long at 58% of the skull length. The lower jaws have a length of 290 millimeters (11 in). The skull is similar to that of

jugal and a slight curve to the upper margin of the lower jaw. The teeth are curved to the back, have three roots and are robust. They are limited to the anterior ends of the jaws; there are 28 teeth in the upper jaws and 26 in the lower jaws for a total of 54. Most elements of the postcranial skeleton are known, with the exception of some cervical vertebrae, the ribs, the tail and the two most extreme phalanges of the wing finger.[1]

Classification

The describers pointed out several similarities with the

cladistic analysis performed by Wang and colleagues showed that Nurhachius was a member of the Istiodactylidae. Its position as being closely related to Istiodactylus was supported by a 2008 analysis by Lü Junchang.[5]

In 2008 Lü also suggested that Nurhachius was a

junior synonym of another istiodactylid from the same ecosystem, Liaoxipterus.[6] However, a 2012 analysis by Mark Witton found that these two istiodactylids were not identical and, more importantly, did not group together in a phylogenetic tree. Witton also noted that they did not actually group together in Lü's study either.[7]

In 2019, the membership of the Istiodactylidae was confirmed by Zhou and colleagues. In their

phylogenetic analysis, both species of Nurhachius (N. ignaciobritoi and N. luei) were recovered within the family Istiodactylidae as sister taxa, and basal members of the family. The cladogram below follows their topology.[3]

Istiodactylus sinensis (A-B), N. ignaciobritoi (C-D) and N. luei (E) from the Jiufotang Formation
Lanceodontia

Ikrandraco avatar

Lonchodraco giganteus

Haopterus gracilis

Hongshanopterus lacustris

Istiodactylidae

Nurhachius ignaciobritoi

Nurhachius luei

Liaoxipterus brachyognathus

Istiodactylus sinensis

Istiodactylus latidens

Ornithocheirae

Ornithocheirus simus

Cimoliopterus cuvieri

Anhangueria

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Xiaolin Wang, Kellner, A.W.A., Zhou Zhonghe, and de Almeida Campos, D. (2005). Pterosaur diversity and faunal turnover in Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in China. Nature 437:875–879.
  2. PMID 24768054
    .
  3. ^ a b c Zhou X., Pêgas R.V., Leal M.E.C. & Bonde N. 2019. "Nurhachius luei, a new istiodactylid pterosaur (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province (China) and comments on the Istiodactylidae." PeerJ 7:e7688
  4. ISSN 0891-2963
    .
  5. ^ J. Lü, and Q. Ji. (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.
  6. ^ Lü, J., Xu, L. and Ji, Q. (2008), "Restudy of Liaoxipterus (Istiodactylidae: Pterosauria), with comments on the Chinese istiodactylid pterosaurs", In: Hone, D. W. E. and Buffetaut, E. (eds), Flugsaurier: pterosaur papers in honour of Peter Wellnhofer, Zitteliana B28: 229–241
  7. PMID 22470442
    .
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