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Pterodactyloidea

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Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	38479	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=38479

Rank

suborder (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Pterosauria : Pterodactyloidea

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Sauropsida	Huxley 1864
class	Reptilia	Laurenti 1768
subclass	Eureptilia
-	Romeriida	Gauthier et al. 1988
-	Diapsida
-	Eosuchia
-	Neodiapsida	Benton 1985
-	Sauria	Gauthier 1984
-	Archosauromorpha
-	Crocopoda	Ezcurra 2016
-	Archosauriformes	Gauthier 1986
-	Eucrocopoda	Ezcurra 2016
-	Archosauria
informal	Avemetatarsalia	Benton 1999
-	Ornithodira	Gauthier 1986
-	Pterosauromorpha	Padian 1997
-	Pterosauria
suborder	Pterodactyloidea	Plieninger 1901

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Roxo, 1937
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated with evidence	Kuhn, 1946
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Huene, 1954
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated with evidence	Kuhn, 1966
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	implied	Carroll, 1988
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Sereno, 1991
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Breviquartossa	stated with evidence	Unwin, 2003
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Osi et al., 2005
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Caelidracones	stated with evidence	Andres et al., 2010
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Pereda-Suberbiola et al., 2012
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Monofenestrata	stated without evidence	Martill et al., 2013
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Pterosauria	stated with evidence	Naish et al., 2013
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Andres and Myers, 2013
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Caelidracones	stated with evidence	Andres et al., 2014
Pterodactyloidea	suborder	belongs to Pterosauria	stated with evidence	Headden and Campos, 2014
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Monofenestrata	stated without evidence	Vidovic and Martill, 2014
Pterodactyloidea	unranked clade	belongs to Pterosauria	stated without evidence	Bantim et al., 2014

Taxon Size (PBDB)

358

First Recorded Appearance

168 - 165 Ma
Middle Jurassic

Environment

marine (based on Pterosauria)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes)

Diet

piscivore (based on Pterosauria)

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Pteranodontia ✝ suborder	listed (PBDB)		52	113 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Eupterodactyloidea ✝ infraorder	listed (PBDB)
Archaeopterodactyloidea ✝ superfamily	listed (PBDB)		5	152 Ma Late Jurassic	125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Dsungaripteroidea ✝ superfamily	listed (PBDB)		5	156 Ma Jurassic	113 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Aurorazhdarchidae ✝ family	listed (PBDB)
Belonochasmatidae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Cearadactylidae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Lonchodraconidae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	101 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	101 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Ornithodesmidae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Tendaguripteridae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	156 Ma Jurassic	156 Ma Jurassic
Titanopterygiidae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Apatomerus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	113 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	113 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Ardeadactylus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		4	156 Ma Jurassic	151 Ma Late Jurassic
Herbstosaurus ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	Herbst Lizard	1	152 Ma Late Jurassic	152 Ma Late Jurassic
Kryptodrakon ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	164 Ma Middle Jurassic	164 Ma Middle Jurassic
Mesadactylus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	156 Ma Jurassic	156 Ma Jurassic
Ningchengopterus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	130 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	130 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Nyctosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		9	89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Wenupteryx ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	151 Ma Late Jurassic	151 Ma Late Jurassic
Anhangueria ✝ unranked clade	listed (PBDB)		6	129 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Lophocratia ✝ unranked clade	listed (PBDB)		309	168 Ma Middle Jurassic	70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Nyctosauridae ✝ unranked clade	listed (PBDB)		5	93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Ornithocheiridae ✝ family	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		62	145 Ma Late Jurassic	83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1824	Pterodactylus grandis Cuvier
1829	Pterodactylus grandis Holl p. 82
1842	Pterodactylus grandis Owen p. 156
1858	Pterodactylus grandis Buckland p. 218
1859	Pterodactylus longipes Münster
1860	Pterodactylus grandipelvis Meyer
1861	Pterodactylus woodwardi Owen p. 4
1861	Pterodactylus grandis Owen p. 274
1865	Pterodactylus carteri Seeley
1869	Ornithocheirus carteri Seeley
1869	Ptenodactylus woodwardi Seeley
1870	Pterodactylus validus Owen
1870	Ornithocheirus tenuirostris Seeley
1870	Ornithocheirus woodwardi Seeley
1870	Pterodactylus carteri Seeley
1870	Ornithocheirus oxyrhinus Seeley p. 117
1870	Ornithocheirus xyphorhynchus Seeley p. 117
1870	Ornithocheirus dentatus Seeley p. 119
1870	Ornithocheirus scaphorhynchus Seeley p. 119
1870	Ornithocheirus crassidens Seeley p. 122
1870	Ornithocheirus brachyrhinus Seeley p. 123
1870	Ornithocheirus enchorhynchus Seeley p. 123
1870	Ornithocheirus eurygnathus Seeley p. 123
1874	Pterodactylus sagittirostris Owen p. 3 figs. Pl. II, figs 1-8
1875	Doratorhynchus validus Seeley
1878	Pterodactylus montanus Marsh p. 233
1878	Pterodactylus montanus Williston p. 44
1881	Dermodactylus montanus Marsh p. 342
1881	Ornithocheirus bunzeli Seeley p. 701
1886	Pterodactylus grandipelvis Winkler p. 200
1890	Pterodactylus grandipelvis Zittel p. 792
1890	Pterodactylus longipes Zittel p. 792
1890	Dermodactylus montanus Zittel p. 798
1890	Doratorhynchus validus Zittel p. 798
1892	Pterodactylus grandis Lortet p. 132
1900	Doratorhynchus validum Van Den Broeck p. 106
1900	Pterodactylus sagittirostris Van Den Broeck p. 106
1901	Pterodactyloidea Plieninger
1902	Dermodactylus montanus Hay p. 507
1937	Pterodactyloidea Roxo p. 44
1946	Pterodactyloidea Kuhn p. 67
1954	Pterodactyloidea Huene p. 56

Year	Name and Author
1958	Pterodactyloidea Delair p. 69
1958	Doratorhynchus validus Delair p. 71
1964	Pterodactyloidea Young p. 251
1966	Pterodactyloidea Kuhn p. 109
1970	Doratorhynchus validus Macfadyen p. 143
1971	Araripesaurus castilhoi Price p. 454
1977	Araripedactylus Wellnhofer
1977	Araripedactylus dehmi Wellnhofer p. 160
1981	Dermodactylus montanus Galton p. 1120
1985	Santanadactylus pricei Wellnhofer p. 132 figs. 19-24
1988	Araripedactylus Carroll
1988	Pterodactyloidea Carroll
1991	Pterodactyloidea Sereno p. 19
2001	Lonchodectes sagittirostris Unwin pp. 209-210
2002	Pterodactyloidea Kellner and Campos p. 389
2003	Lonchodectes sagittirostris Unwin p. 145
2003	Pterodactyloidea Unwin p. 158
2005	Pterodactyloidea Osi et al.
2006	Pterodactyloidea Andres and Ji p. 70
2006	Dermodactylus montanus Chure et al. p. 236
2006	Pterodactyloidea Chure et al. p. 236
2006	Pterodactyloidea Wang and Zhou p. 406
2010	Pterodactyloidea Andres et al. fig. 7
2012	Pterodactyloidea Pereda-Suberbiola et al.
2013	Pterodactyloidea Andres and Myers
2013	Pterodactyloidea Martill et al.
2013	Pterodactyloidea Naish et al.
2013	Osteornis Rodrigues and Kellner
2013	Pterodactyloidea Rodrigues and Kellner p. 3
2014	Pterodactyloidea Andres et al.
2014	Pterodactyloidea Bantim et al.
2014	Pterodactyloidea Headden and Campos
2014	Pterodactyloidea Jiang et al. p. 823
2014	Pterodactyloidea Vidovic and Martill
2016	Pterodactyloidea Pegas et al.
2017	Pterodactyloidea Zhou et al.
2019	Pterodactyloidea Holgado et al.
2019	Pterodactyloidea Jacobs et al.
2019	Pterodactyloidea Kellner et al.
2019	Pterodactyloidea Zhou et al.
2020	Pterodactyloidea Pegas et al.

References

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Holl F. , Handbuch der Petrefactenkunde, mit einer Einleitung über die Vorwelt der organischen Wesen auf der Erde von Dr. Ludwig Choulant 1, 1-115

Owen R. Report on British fossil reptiles, part II, Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 11, 60-204

Buckland W. , The Bridgewater Treatises on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as Manifested in the Creation. Treatise IV. Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference to Natural Theology. 3rd Edition 1, lxxxiii-542

Owen R. Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous formations. Supplement no. III. Pterosauria (Pterodactylus) and Sauropterygia (Polyptychodon), Palaeontographical Society Monographs, 1-25

Owen R. , Palaeontology, or a Systematic Summary of Extinct Animals and their Geological Relations. Second Edition. Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1-463

Seeley H. G. , Index to the Fossil Remains of Aves, Ornithosauria, and Reptilia, from the Secondary System of Strata, Arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge. Deighton, Bell, and Co, Cambridge, 1-143

Seeley H. G. , The Ornithosauria: an elementary study of the bones of pterodactyles, made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co, Cambridge

Owen R. The fossil Reptilia of the Mesozoic formations. Part 1. Pterosauria, Palaeontographical Society Monographs 27 126, 1-14

Marsh O. C. Note on American pterodactyls, American Journal of Science 31, 342-343

Seeley H. G. The reptile fauna of the Gosau Formation preserved in the Geological Museum of the University of Vienna, Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 37 148, 620-707

Winkler T. C. , Histoire de l’Ichnologie. Étude Ichnologique sur les Empreintes de Pas d’Animaux Fossiles, Suivie de la Description des Plaques à Impressions d’Animaux qui se Trouvent au Musée Teyler [History of Ichnology. Ichnological Study of Fossil Animal Footprints, Followed by the Description of Slabs with Animal Impressions found in Teyler’s Museum], iv-200

Zittel K. A. v. , Handbuch der Palaeontologie. I. Abteilung Paleozoologie. III. Band. Vertebrata (Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves) [Handbook of Paleontology. Division I. Paleozoology. Volume III. Vertebrata (Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves)], xii-900

Lortet L. Les reptiles fossiles du bassin du Rhône [The fossil reptiles of the Rhône basin], Archives du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Lyon 5, 3-139

Van Den Broeck E. Les dépôts à Iguanodons de Bernissart et leur transfert dans l’étage Purbeckien ou Aquilonien du Jurassique supérieur. Exposé comprenant une revue de la faune des vertébrés du Purbeckien et du Wealdien dans le sud-est de l’Angleterre [The Iguanodon deposits of Bernissart and their transfer to the Purbeckian or Aquilonian stage of the Upper Jurassic. Presentation including a review of the vertebrate fauna of the Purbeckian and Wealden of southeast England ], Mémoires de la Société Belge de Géologie de Paléontologie et d’Hydrologie 14, 39-112

Hay O. P. (1902) , Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America. Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179, 1-868

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Delair J. B. (1958) The Mesozoic reptiles of Dorset. Part one, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 79, 47-72

Young C.-C. (1964) On a new pterosaurian from Sinkiang, China, Vertebrata PalAsiatica 8 3, 221-255

Kuhn O. W. M. (1966) , Die Reptilien. System und Stammesgeschichte [The Reptiles. Systematics and Phylogeny.], 1-154

Macfadyen W. A. (1970) , Geological Highlights of the West Country. A Nature Conservancy Handbook, 1-296

Price L. I. (1971) A presença de Pterosauria no Cretáceo Inferior da Chapada do Araripe, Brasil, Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 43, 451-461

Wellnhofer P. (1977) Araripedactylus dehmi nov. gen., nov. sp., ein neuer Flugsaurier aus der Unterkreide von Brasilien, Mitteilungen dr Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie 17, 157-167

Galton P. M. (1981) A rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic of North America, Journal of Paleontology 55 5, 1117-1122

Wellnhofer P. (1985) Neue Pterosaurier aus der Santana-Formation (Apt) der Chapada do Araripe, Brasilien, Palaeontographica Abteilung A 187, 105-182

Sereno P. C. (1991) Basal archosaurs: phylogenetic relationships and functional implications, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 2 11 4, suppl., 1-53

Unwin D. M. (2001) An overview of the pterosaur assemblage from the Cambridge Greensand (Cretaceous) of Eastern England, Mitteilungen as dem Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Geowissenschaftliche Reihe 4, 189-222

Kellner A. W. A., Campos D. A. (2002) The function of the cranial crest and jaws of a unique pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, Science 297, 389-392

Unwin D. M. (2003) On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs, Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs, Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, 139-190

Osi A., Weishampel D. B., et al (2005) First evidence of azhdarchid pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50 4, 777-787

Andres B., Ji Q. (2006) A new species of Istiodactylus (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Liaoning, China, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26 1, 70-78

Chure D. J., Litwin R., et al (2006) The fauna and flora of the Morrison Formation: 2006, Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36, 233-249

Wang X., Zhou Z. (2006) Pterosaur assemblages of the Jehol Biota and their implication for the Early Cretaceous pterosaur radiation, Geological Journal 41 3-4, 405-418

Andres B., Clark J. M., et al (2010) A new rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, and the phylogenetic relationships of basal pterosaurs, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30 1, 163-187

Pereda-Suberbiola X., Knoll F., et al (2012) Reassessment of Prejanopterus curvirostris, a basal pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Spain, Acta Geological Sinica 86 6, 1389-1401

Andres B., Myers T. S. (2013) Lone Star Pterosaurs, Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 103, 383-398

Martill D. M., O'Sullivan M., et al (2013) A possible azhdarchid pterosaur (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) in the Durlston Formation (Early Cretaceous, Berriasian) of southern England, Cretaceous Research 43, 26-39

Naish D., Simpson M., et al (2013) A new small-bodied azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England and its implications for pterosaur anatomy, diversity and phylogeny, PLoS One 8 3, e58451

Rodrigues T., Kellner A. W. A. (2013) Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England, ZooKeys 308, 1-112 doi:doi: 10.3897/zookeys.308.5559

Andres B., Clark J., et al (2014) The earliest pterodactyloid and the origin of the group, Current Biology 24, 1-6

Bantim R. A. M., Saraiva A. A. F., et al (2014) A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil, Zootaxa 3869 3, 201-223 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.1

Headden J. A., Campos H. B. N. (2014) An unusual edentulous pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of Brazil, Historical Biology doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2014.904302

Jiang S.-X., Wang X.-L., et al (2014) A new boreopterid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China, with a reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of the Boreopteridae, Journal of Paleontology 88 4, 823-828 doi:10.1666/13-068

Pegas R. V., Leal M. E. C., et al (2016) A Basal Tapejarine (Pterosauria; Pterodactyloidea; Tapejaridae) from the Crato Formation, Early Cretaceous of Brazil, Plos One doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162692

Zhou C.-F., Gao K.-Q., et al (2017) Earliest filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and ecological evolution of Pterodactyloidea, Royal Society Open Science 4 160672

Holgado B., Pegas R. V., et al (2019) On a new crested pterodactyloid from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula and the radiation of the clade Anhangueria, Scientific Reports 9 4940 doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41280-4

Kellner A. W. A., Weinschutz L. C., et al (2019) A new toothless pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from Southern Brazil with insights into the paleoecology of a Cretaceous desert2, Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 91 2 doi:10.1590/0001-3765201920190768

Zhou X.-Y., Pegas R. V., et al (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 doi:10.7717/peerj.7688

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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