- Pterodactyloidea
Taxobox
name = Pterodactyloids
fossil_range =Middle Jurassic –Late Cretaceous
image_width = 200px
image_caption = "Gnathosaurus "
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo =Pterosauria
subordo = Pterodactyloidea
subordo_authority = Plieninger, 1901
subdivision_ranks = Superfamilies
subdivision =Azhdarchoidea Ctenochasmatoidea Dsungaripteroidea Ornithocheiroidea Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek
word s "πτερόν" ("pterón", for usual "ptéryx") "wing", and "δάκτυλος" ("dáctylos") "finger" meaning "winged finger", "wing-finger" or "finger-wing") forms one of the two suborders ofpterosaur s ("wing lizards"), and contains the most advanced members of this group of flying reptiles. They appeared during the middleJurassic Period, and differ from the basalrhamphorhynchoidea by their short tails and long wingmetacarpal s (hand bones). The most advanced forms also lack teeth. Many species had well developed crests on the skull, a form of display taken to extremes in giant-crested forms like "Nyctosaurus " and "Tupandactylus ". Pterodactyloids (specifically the familyAzhdarchidae ) were the last surviving pterosaurs when the order became extinct at the end of theCretaceous Period, together with thedinosaur s and most marine reptiles."Pterodactyl" is also a common term for pterodactyloid pterosaurs, though it can also be used to refer to pterosaurs in general or to "
Pterodactylus " specifically. Well-known examples of pterodactyloids include "Pterodactylus", "Dsungaripterus ", "Pteranodon ", and "Quetzalcoatlus ".Classification
Taxonomy
Listing of families and superfamilies within the suborder Pterodactyloidea, after Unwin 2006.cite book |last=Unwin |first=David M. |authorlink=David M. Unwin |title=The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time |year=2006 |publisher=Pi Press |location=New York |isbn=ISBN 0-13-146308-X |pages=246]
* Pterodactyloids of uncertain relationships ("
incertae sedis ")
** "Araripesaurus "
** "Mesadactylus "
** "Mythunga "
** "Puntanipterus "
** "Santanadactylus "Phylogeny
Cladogram after Unwin (2003). For alternate cladograms, seeList of pterosaur classifications .Unwin, D. M., (2003). "On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs." Pp. 139-190. in Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J.-M., (eds.) (2003). "Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs". Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, London, 1-347.]clade| style=font-size:75%;line-height:80%
label1=Pterodactyloidea
1=clade
1=clade
label1=Ornithocheiroidea
1=clade
1=?"Boreopterus "
2=Istiodactylidae
label3=Euornithocheira
3=clade
1=clade
label1=Ornithocheiridae
1=clade
1=Ornithocheirinae
2=Anhanguerinae
label2=Pteranodontia
2=clade
1=clade
label1=Pteranodontidae
1=clade
1="Nyctosaurus "
2=Pteranodontinae
label2=Lophocrania
2=clade
label1=Ctenochasmatoidea
1=clade
1=?"Feilongus "
2=Gallodactylidae
label3=Euctenochasmia
3=clade
1="Pterodactylus " |2="Lonchodectes " |label3=Ctenochasmatidae
3=clade
1=Gnathosaurinae
2=Ctenochasmatinae
label2=Dsungaripteroidea
2=clade
1=?"Herbstosaurus "
2=?"Kepodactylus "
3=?"Puntanipterus "
4=Germanodactylidae |5=Dsungaripteridae
label3=Azhdarchoidea
3=clade
1=?"Thalassodromeus "
2="Tupuxuara "
label3=Neoazhdarchia
3=clade
1="Tapejara"
2=Azhdarchidae Uncertain placement ("incertae sedis"): "
Araripedactylus ", "Wyomingopteryx ", "Bennettazhia ", "Dermodactylus ", "Haopterus ", "Mesadactylus ", "Criorhynchus ".References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.