Thalassodromidae

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Thalassodromids
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 108Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Clade: †Neoazhdarchia
Family: †Thalassodromidae
Kellner, 2007
Type species
†Thalassodromeus sethi
Kellner & Campos, 2002
Synonyms

Tupuxuaridae
Martill, Bechly & Heads, 2007

Thalassodromidae (meaning "sea runners") is a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous period of Brazil. It contains two genera, Thalassodromeus and Tupuxuara.[1]

Classification

The classification of thalassodromids is controversial. Some studies, including one by Lü and colleagues in 2008, have found that the thalassodromids are more closely related to the azhdarchids than to the tapejarids,[2] and have placed them in their own family (which has sometimes been referred to as Tupuxuaridae,[3] though Thalassodrominae was named first[1]). Alternately, they have been considered a subfamily (Thalassodrominae) within the Tapejaridae.[4]

Below are two alternate cladograms resulting from studies of azhdarchoid relationships. The first, presented by Felipe Pinheiro and colleagues in 2011, found the thalassodromids as subgroup within the Tapejaridae. The second, presented by Lu and colleagues in 2008, found them to be closer to the Azhdarchidae.

Azhdarchoidea

Azhdarchidae


Tapejaridae

Thalassodrominae

Chaoyangopterinae

Tapejarinae





Azhdarchoidea

Tapejaridae


Neoazhdarchia

Thalassodromidae

Chaoyangopteridae

Azhdarchidae





References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kellner, A.W.A.; and Campos, D.A. (2007). "Short note on the ingroup relationships of the Tapejaridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea". Boletim do Museu Nacional 75: 1–14. 
  2. ↑ Lü, J., Unwin, D.M., Xu, L., and Zhang, X. (2008). "A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China and its implications for pterosaur phylogeny and evolution." Naturwissenschaften,
  3. ↑ Martill, D.M., Bechly, G., and Heads, S.W. (2007). "Appendix: species list for the Crato Formation." In: Martill, D.M., Bechly, G., and Loveridge, R.F. (eds.), 2007. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Pp. 582–607.
  4. ↑ Pinheiro, F.L., Fortier, D.C., Schultz, C.L., De Andrade, J.A.F.G. and Bantim, R.A.M. (in press). "New information on Tupandactylus imperator, with comments on the relationships of Tapejaridae (Pterosauria)." Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, in press, available online 03 Jan 2011. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0057


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