Yixianopterus
Sign in to saveYixianopterus is a pterodactyloid pterosaur genus from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It is known from a single specimen, holotype JZMP-V-12, housed at the Benxi Geological Museum. This specimen was modified before acquisition, with much of the skull being fabricated. The Jinggangshan bedding in which the specimen was found is basaltic with siliciclastic sediments. Many organisms associated with this layer of the Yixian Formation are aquatic, indicating a marine environment with much volcanic activity.
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Classification
- Holotype JZMP-V-12
- References
Yixianopterus is a pterodactyloid pterosaur genus from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It is known from a single specimen, holotype JZMP-V-12, housed at the Benxi Geological Museum. This specimen was modified before acquisition, with much of the skull being fabricated. The Jinggangshan bedding in which the specimen was found is basaltic with siliciclastic sediments. Many organisms associated with this layer of the Yixian Formation are aquatic, indicating a marine environment with much volcanic activity.
==Classification== Lü et al. (2006) assigned Yixianopterus to the Lophocratian family Lonchodectidae based on dental characters, and ratio comparisons between wing phalanx I and II, metacarpal IV, and ulna. This specimen was classified it as the first Asian representative of Lonchodectidae. Martill (2011) considered it potentially related to his new taxon Unwindia, and Witton (2013) assigned it to the family Ornithocheiridae.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Yixianopterus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.