Istiodactylus

Istiodactylus

Holozoa

Istiodactylus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Family: †Istiodactylidae
Genus: †Istiodactylus
Howse, Milner, & Martill, 2001
Type species
Ornithodesmus latidens
Hooley, 1913
Species

I. latidens
(Hooley, 1913) [originally Ornithodesmus]
I. sinensis?
Andres & Qiang, 2006
Synonyms

Ornithodesmus latidens
Hooley, 1913

Istiodactylus was a medium sized pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period.

Contents

History and species

In 1887 Harry Govier Seeley named the remains of a fossil pelvis discovered on the Isle of Wight, Ornithodesmus cluniculus, thinking it was a bird. In 1901 he considered that it might have been a pterosaur. In 1913 Reginald Walter Hooley named a second species, Ornithodesmus latidens, for some definitively pterosaurian material, found in the Vectis Formation. The holotype was BMNH R 0176, a partial skeleton. The specific name means "broad tooth" in Latin.

The type species of the genus Ornithodesmus, however, was in the 1980s discovered to be based on bones belonging to a dinosaur, which meant a new genus had to be named for O. latidens. This species was assigned to its own genus Istiodactylus by Stafford Howse, Andrew Milner, and David Martill in 2001. The genus name is derived from Greek istion, "sail" and daktylos, "finger", referring to the fact that the wing of pterosaurs is formed by a membrane attached to a wingfinger.

Istiodactylus latidens lifesize model in Dinosaur Isle museum on the Isle of Wight

Istiodactylus was a moderately large pterosaur; its skull was 56 cm long, and its wingspan was probably in the five meter range, making it about half the size of Pteranodon. Because of the flat, rounded shape of its beak, Istiodactylus is sometimes referred to as a "duck billed pterosaur".[1] However, unlike a duck, it had small, sharp teeth, and may have eaten fish or scavenged (Howse, Milner, & Martill, 2001). The pointed leaf-shaped teeth were laterally compressed, an adaptation for slicing flesh, and closely interlocked in the frontal jaws. The skull was quite elongated, with most teeth concentrated in the blunt front part.

Howse et al. in 2001 created for Istiodactylus its own family Istiodactylidae.

In 2006 a second species, I. sinensis from China, has been named, its specific name referring to China. Its holotype is NGMC 99-07-011, a partial skeleton of a subadult individual. It was much smaller than I. latidens, its dimensions being 63% of the larger species, thus about a quarter in weight. In 2006 Lü Jun-Chang et al. concluded I. sinensis was a junior synonym of the istiodactylid Nurhachius.

See also

Abyssal Brachiopod 00148.jpg Paleontology portal

Notes

  1. ^ Peter Wellnhofer, 1991, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs, Crescent Books, p. 114

Literature

  • Seeley, H. G., 1887, "On a sacrum apparently indicating a new type of bird, Ornithodesmus cluniculus Seeley from the Wealden of Brook", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 43: 206-211
  • Hooley, R. W., 1913, "On the skeleton of Ornithodesmus latidens. An ornithosaur from the Wealden shales of Atherfield (Isle of Wight)", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 69: 372-421
  • Howse, S. C. B., Milner A. R., and Martill, D. M., 2001, "Pterosaurs". Pp. 324-335 in: Martill, D. M. and Naish, D., eds. Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight, The Palaeontological Association
  • Andres, B. and Ji Qiang, 2006, "A new species of Istiodactylus (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Liaoning, China", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 26: 70-78
  • Lü, J., Ji, S., Yuan, C., and Ji, Q., 2006, Pterosaurs from China, Beijing, Geological Publishing House

External links


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