| Boreopterids Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 124.6 Ma |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Superfamily: | †Ornithocheiroidea |
| clade: | †Euornithocheira |
| Family: | †Boreopteridae Lü et al., 2006 |
| Type species | |
| Boreopterus cuiae Lü & Ji, 2005 |
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| Genera | |
Boreopteridae (meaning "northern wings") is a group of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.[1]
The known taxa come from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, which represented a lake system, suggesting that these animals occurred in freshwater habitats. They are thought to have foraged while swimming, trapping prey with their needle-like teeth;[2] this method of fishing was probably analogous to that of Platanista dolphins, which share a similar dentition.
Many possible ornithocheirid remains might actually belong to boreopterids,[3] a possible example being Aetodactylus, which has been claimed to be similar to Boreopterus.[4]