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| Sinopterus Fossil range: Early Cretaceous |
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Sinopterus (meaning "Chinese wing") was a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. Two species have been named. It is known for its proportionally large skull, which has a birdlike pointed beak, a long bony crest that starts with a tall premaxilla and goes back along the middle of the skull to form a point overhanging the rear of the skull, and its lack of teeth.
The type species, S. dongi, is based on IVPP V13363, an articulated, nearly complete skeleton. The skull of this individual was 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) long, and the wingspan was estimated to be 1.2 meters (3.9 feet). The authors suggested that it was an omnivore, and noted that it was the first record of a tapejarid outside of Brazil, and the earliest and most complete tapejarid.[1] The second species, S. gui, is based on BPV-077, another nearly complete skeleton from the same formation; it differs from the type species in various proportions, and is only about 60% its size. At the time of its description, it was the smallest toothless pterosaur known from the Jiufotang Formation.[2]
References
- ^ Wang, X., and Zhou, Z. (2003). A new pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China and its implications for biostratigraphy. Chinese Science Bulletin 48:16-23.
- ^ Li, J., Lü, J., and Zhang, B. (2003). A new Lower Cretaceous sinopterid pterosaur from the Western Liaoning, China. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica 42(3):442-447.
External links
- Sinopterus dongi in The Pterosaur Database
- Sinopterus gui in The Pterosaur Database
- An undescribed third specimen in The Pterosaur Database
- Sinopterus in The Pterosauria
