Eopteranodon
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| Eopteranodon lii Lü and Zhang, 2005 |
Eopteranodon (meaning "dawn Pteranodon (toothless wing)") was a genus of ?azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipaio City, Liaoning, China. It is based on BPV-078, an incomplete skeleton and skull. Its skull, including a large crest, was toothless and similar to that of Pteranodon. The skull was less than 200 millimeters long (7.9 inches), and the animal had a wingspan of about 1.1 meters (3.6 feet). Despite its similarities to Pteranodon, Eopteranodon was not placed into a family by its describers, who put it into the clade Pteranodontia as incertae sedis (uncertain position).[1] Shortly thereafter, a phylogenetic study of all known Yixian pterosaurs found it to be close to the azhdarchoids, noted for the crested genera Tapejara and Tupuxuara, and the giant, long-necked Quetzalcoatlus.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Lü, J.C.; and B.K. Zhang (2005). "New pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning". Geological Review 51 (4): 458-462.
- ^ Lü, Junchang; and Qiang 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. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
[edit] External links
- Eopteranodon in The Pterosaur Database
- Eopteranodon in The Pterosauria
- A reconstruction of the skull of Eopteranodon at The Grave Yard
