Morphofunctional Analysis of the Quadrate of Spinosauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and the Presence of Spinosaurus and a Second Spinosaurine Taxon in the Cenomanian of North Africa.

Six quadrate bones, of which two almost certainly come from the Kem Kem beds (Cenomanian, Upper Cretaceous) of south-eastern Morocco, are determined to be from juvenile and adult individuals of Spinosaurinae based on phylogenetic, geometric morphometric, and phylogenetic morphometric analyses. Their morphology indicates two morphotypes evidencing the presence of two spinosaurine taxa ascribed to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and? Sigilmassasaurus brevicollis in the Cenomanian of North Africa, casting doubt on the accuracy of some recent skeletal reconstructions which may be based on elements from several distinct species. Morphofunctional analysis of the mandibular articulation of the quadrate has shown that the jaw mechanics was peculiar in Spinosauridae. In mature spinosaurids, the posterior parts of the two mandibular rami displaced laterally when the jaw was depressed due to a lateromedially oriented intercondylar sulcus of the quadrate. Such lateral movement of the mandibular ramus was possible due to a movable mandibular symphysis in spinosaurids, allowing the pharynx to be widened. Similar jaw mechanics also occur in some pterosaurs and living pelecanids which are both adapted to capture and swallow large prey items. Spinosauridae, which were engaged, at least partially, in a piscivorous lifestyle, were able to consume large fish and may have occasionally fed on other prey such as pterosaurs and juvenile dinosaurs.     

辽西早白垩世九佛堂组两种新的翼手龙类化石(英文)

简要报道了辽西热河群上部九佛堂组两件新的翼手龙类化石 ,即夜翼龙科(Nyctosauridae)的张氏朝阳翼龙 (新属、新种 )Chaoyangopteruszhangigen .etsp .nov.和古魔翼龙科 (Anhangueridae)的顾氏辽宁翼龙 (新属、新种 )Liaoningopterusguigen .et.sp .nov.。前者为保存较完整的化石骨架 ,后者为一大型翼龙的头骨和部分头后骨骼化石。朝阳翼龙是夜翼龙科在亚洲大陆的首次确切的化石记录 ,也是层位最低和保存最完整的化石骨架。朝阳翼龙具有4节翼指骨 ,手指爪粗大弯曲 ,这些发现补充和修正了前人认为的夜翼龙科只有 3节翼指骨 ,手指爪退化缺失等一些重要的形态学特征。朝阳翼龙与该科的Nyctosaurusgracilis头后骨骼相比 ,具有许多不同的特征 ,如胫骨特长 ,远长于股骨 ,翼掌骨和第 1翼指骨相对较短 ,肩胛骨短于乌喙骨等。辽宁翼龙是我国已发现的个体最大的翼龙化石 ,发育前上颌骨和齿骨弧形脊突这一古魔翼龙科的重要鉴别特征。与该科的其他成员相比 ,辽宁翼龙上、下颌的牙齿较少 ,仅分布在其前部 ,齿列约占上、下颌长度的 1 / 2。上颌第 1、3齿小 ,第 2、4齿巨大 ,其中第 4齿最大 ,为已知翼龙中最大的牙齿。牙齿具有明显的替换现象。夜翼龙科的成员仅分布于美洲大陆的晚白垩世地层中 ,而古魔翼龙科的成员则是     

Did pterosaurs feed by skimming? Physical modelling and anatomical evaluation of an unusual feeding method

Similarities between the anatomies of living organisms are often used to draw conclusions regarding the ecology and behaviour of extinct animals. Several pterosaur taxa are postulated to have been skim-feeders based largely on supposed convergences of their jaw anatomy with that of the modern skimming bird, Rynchops spp. Using physical and mathematical models of Rynchops bills and pterosaur jaws, we show that skimming is considerably more energetically costly than previously thought for Rynchops and that pterosaurs weighing more than one kilogram would not have been able to skim at all. Furthermore, anatomical comparisons between the highly specialised skull of Rynchops and those of postulated skimming pterosaurs suggest that even smaller forms were poorly adapted for skim-feeding. Our results refute the hypothesis that some pterosaurs commonly used skimming as a foraging method and illustrate the pitfalls involved in extrapolating from limited morphological convergence.     

A new species of Lapparentophis from the mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem beds,Morocco, with remarks on the distribution of lapparentophiid snakes

Two isolated trunk vertebrae from the ?uppermost Albian–lower Cenomanian Kem Kem beds of Morocco are described and assigned to Lapparentophis, an early snake genus known from coeval deposits in Algeria. The Moroccan specimens represent a new species, Lapparentophis ragei, which can be distinguished from the type and only known species, Lapparentophis defrennei, by its smaller size, its more elongate vertebrae, the presence of parazygosphenal foramina, and paradiapophyses extending anteroventrally closer to the cotyle. The discovery of Lapparentophis in the Kem Kem beds adds to the relatively diverse snake assemblage previously reported from this formation and extends the geographical range of the genus. The distribution of Lapparentophis and lapparentophiid-grade (?lapparentophiid) snakes is discussed. This poorly known family of terrestrial snakes seems to be restricted to the latest Albian–early Cenomanian of North Africa, with the exception of Pouitella from the early–middle Cenomanian of France. As for many other vertebrate taxa of this period, this distribution is consistent with a dispersal event from Africa to the western part of the European archipelago.     

A Catalog of Pterosaur Pedes for Trackmaker Identification

The matching of ichnites to extinct trackmakers has been done successfully with a variety of taxa, from basal hominids to basal tetrapods. Traces attributed to pterosaurs have been studied for more than 50 years, but little interest has been shown in the pedes themselves. While ichnites can vary greatly in their correspondence to their trackmaker, most pterosaur tracks appear to preserve sufficient detail to assess their origins. This report presents a catalog of pterosaur pedal skeletons that can be matched to a wider spectrum of ichnites, including digitigrade and bipedal ichnites previously not associated with pterosaurs. A variety of pedal characters separate several putative genera into distinct clades, some only distantly related to one another. Distinct pedal characters indicate certain tiny pterosaurs were not juveniles of dissimilar adults, but were separate taxa and likely adults themselves. A squamate and fenestrasaur origin for pterosaurs is supported. These new insights overturn long-standing paradigms. The pterosaur pes contains a wealth of data that should not be ignored. Application of this data enables a more precise identification of both skeletal taxa and ichnotaxa.     

Theropod dinosaurs from the Albian–Cenomanian Wayan Formation of eastern Idaho

The record of terrestrial vertebrates in the upper Albian to Cenomanian Wayan Formation of Idaho is sparse, with most fossils recovered belonging to the small orodromine neornithischian Oryctodromeus cubicularis and the maniraptoran ootaxon Macroelongatoolithus carlylei. Here we report on a diversity of theropod forms now recognised from various isolated teeth, vertebrae, eggs and eggshell. Theropods recognised from isolated teeth include a large possible tyrannosauroid, a small tyrannosauroid, dromaeosaurids, and indeterminate theropods. A possible neovenatorid and indeterminate theropods are recognised from isolated vertebrae. A giant oviraptorosaur is indicated by the presence of rare eggs and common eggshell accumulations referred to Macroelongatoolithus. While these remains are admittedly meager, their presence indicates that a substantial diversity of theropods existed in the Albian to Cenomanian environments of southeastern Idaho. The Wayan theropod assemblage is among the most diverse reported for this time period in North America, and represents a transitional assemblage resembling that of the later Late Cretaceous.     

Partial mandible of a giant pterosaur from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Hațeg Basin,Romania

We describe and interpret a posterior mandibular symphysis of a very large azhdarchid pterosaur. The specimen LPB (FGGUB ) R.2347 exhibits a series of morphological characters present in both azhdarchid and tapejarid pterosaurs, suggesting a more basal position within the clade Azhdarchidae. This fossil was collected from Maastrichtian continental deposits near V?lioara in the Ha?eg Basin, Romania, but cannot be confidently referred to the contemporaneous giant Hatzegopteryx thambema, also from V?lioara, due to the absence of overlapping skeletal elements. Remarkably, this mandibular symphysis shares a number of features the smaller azhdarchoid Bakonydraco galaczi from the Santonian of Hungary. Additional comparisons with previously described large‐sized azhdarchid mandibles indicate a certain degree of morphological and probably ecological disparity within the group. This specimen represents the largest pterosaur mandible ever found and provides insights into the anatomy of the enigmatic giant pterosaurs.     

A new crested pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Spain: the first European tapejarid (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)

Background

The Tapejaridae is a group of unusual toothless pterosaurs characterized by bizarre cranial crests. From a paleoecological point of view, frugivorous feeding habits have often been suggested for one of its included clades, the Tapejarinae. So far, the presence of these intriguing flying reptiles has been unambiguously documented from Early Cretaceous sites in China and Brazil, where pterosaur fossils are less rare and fragmentary than in similarly-aged European strata.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Europejara olcadesorum gen. et sp. nov. is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters including an unusual caudally recurved dentary crest. It represents the oldest known member of Tapejaridae and the oldest known toothless pterosaur. The new taxon documents the earliest stage of the acquisition of this anatomical feature during the evolutionary history of the Pterodactyloidea. This innovation may have been linked to the development of new feeding strategies.

Conclusion/Significance

The discovery of Europejara in the Barremian of the Iberian Peninsula reveals an earlier and broader global distribution of tapejarids, suggesting a Eurasian origin of this group. It adds to the poorly known pterosaur fauna of the Las Hoyas locality and contributes to a better understanding of the paleoecology of this Konservat-Lagerstätte. Finally, the significance of a probable contribution of tapejarine tapejarids to the early angiosperm dispersal is discussed.     

A New Pterosaur from the Jurassic of Cuba

Cacibupteryx caribensis gen. et sp. nov. is a new pterosaur of the family Rhamphorhynchidae found in western Cuba, in rocks of the Jagua Formation (Middle–Upper Oxfordian). The holotype, a skull and part of the left wing, is one of the few Jurassic pterosaurs that is well preserved in three dimensions. The new taxon shares characters with early and late Jurassic pterosaurs, and is one of the few late Jurassic taxa from western Laurasia and Gondwana. Furthermore, Cacibupteryx joins Nesodactylus hesperius Colbert from Cuba, and Sordes pilosus Sharov, from Kazakhstan as the most complete pterosaur recorded from the Middle–Upper Oxfordian. Cacibupteryx caribensis is one of the largest Jurassic pterosaurs known, and its skull possesses several distinct characters, including relatively broad roof elements (mainly frontal and parietal bones), a jugal with a prominent recess, occipital table trapezoidal in shape with the maximum width between the quadrate bones, and a small fenestra located in the posterior part of the pterygoid bones. In the Oxfordian, the Caribbean Corridor separated Laurasia and western Gondwana. The diversity of the marine herpetofauna found in the Jagua Vieja Member (Jagua Formation), and of teleostean fish, confirms that the corridor was an effective seaway over which flew at least Nesodactylus and Cacibupteryx .     

On the size and flight diversity of giant pterosaurs, the use of birds as pterosaur analogues and comments on pterosaur flightlessness

The size and flight mechanics of giant pterosaurs have received considerable research interest for the last century but are confused by conflicting interpretations of pterosaur biology and flight capabilities. Avian biomechanical parameters have often been applied to pterosaurs in such research but, due to considerable differences in avian and pterosaur anatomy, have lead to systematic errors interpreting pterosaur flight mechanics. Such assumptions have lead to assertions that giant pterosaurs were extremely lightweight to facilitate flight or, if more realistic masses are assumed, were flightless. Reappraisal of the proportions, scaling and morphology of giant pterosaur fossils suggests that bird and pterosaur wing structure, gross anatomy and launch kinematics are too different to be considered mechanically interchangeable. Conclusions assuming such interchangeability--including those indicating that giant pterosaurs were flightless--are found to be based on inaccurate and poorly supported assumptions of structural scaling and launch kinematics. Pterosaur bone strength and flap-gliding performance demonstrate that giant pterosaur anatomy was capable of generating sufficient lift and thrust for powered flight as well as resisting flight loading stresses. The retention of flight characteristics across giant pterosaur skeletons and their considerable robustness compared to similarly-massed terrestrial animals suggest that giant pterosaurs were not flightless. Moreover, the term 'giant pterosaur' includes at least two radically different forms with very distinct palaeoecological signatures and, accordingly, all but the most basic sweeping conclusions about giant pterosaur flight should be treated with caution. Reappraisal of giant pterosaur material also reveals that the size of the largest pterosaurs, previously suggested to have wingspans up to 13 m and masses up to 544 kg, have been overestimated. Scaling of fragmentary giant pterosaur remains have been misled by distorted fossils or used inappropriate scaling techniques, indicating that 10-11 m wingspans and masses of 200-250 kg are the most reliable upper estimates of known pterosaur size.     

The skull of Cteniogenys, a choristodere (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of Oxfordshire

The genus Ctemogenys was originally described as a lizard on the basis of isolated jaw fragments from the Upper Jurassic deposits of Como Bluff, Wyoming. The discovery of new material from a Middle Jurassic locality at Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, showed that Cteniogenys was not a lizard, but an early choristodere. The skull is represented by a collection of isolated bones, associated on the basis of fit and dermal sculpture pattern. The bones are here described and compared with those of the Late Cretaceous and Palaeocene choristoderes Champsosaurus and Simoedosaurus. Allowing for the much smaller size of the Middle Jurassic form, there is a close correspondence between the isolated bones of the three genera. Comparison with known choristoderes, based on an analysis of 53 derived character states, suggests that Ctemogenys is the most primitive of known genera. In general, the character states shared by all choristoderes support recent analyses which conclude that choristoderes arc derived from archosauromorph diapsids, not lepidosauromorphs as once thought. At Kirtlington, Cteniogenys forms part of a diverse microvertebrate assemblage including amiids, sharks, frogs, salamanders, lizards, mammals, crocodiles, pterosaurs, turtles and small dinosaurs.     

An unusual edentulous pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of Brazil

Numerous taxa make up the Early Cretaceous fauna of Brazil, including Ornithocheiroidea, Tapejaridae, Thalassodromidae, Chaoyangopteridae and a purported member of Azhdarchidae. Dsungaripteridae has only been tentatively assumed to be present in the form of ‘Santanadactylus’ spixi. New study of NMSG SAO 251093 (a specimen referred to Thalassodromeus sethi) suggests it is a previously unknown species of dsungaripterid, Banguela oberlii, tax. nov., differing from Thalassodromeus and other pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil by a unique combination of characters, including an upturned jaw tip, a short dorsal mandibular symphyseal shelf (dmss), and an autapomorphic thin crest placed halfway along the fused mandibular symphysis without a keel along the ventral margin of the jaw. B. oberlii, tax. nov., is referred to Dsungaripteridae based on a dmss no longer than the ventral shelf, U-shaped caudal margin of the ventral shelf and lateral margins of the mandibular symphysis concave in dorsal view. B. oberlii, tax. nov., is the youngest known dsungaripterid, and expands known morphological diversity in the clade as well as the Early Cretaceous pterosaur fauna of South America.     

First record ofColoborhynchus (Pterosauria) from the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Chapada do Araripe, Brazil

The anterior tips of associated upper and lower jaws of a pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil are described and assigned to the taxonColoborhynchus in the family Ornithocheiridae. It is characterized by the shape and position of the sagittal crest on the upper and lower jaw, the arrangement and length of the teeth and the spoon-like lateral expansion of the anterior parts of the jaws. It closely resemblesColoborhynchus wadleighi from North America andColoborhynchus clavirostris from England. Diagnostic anatomical characteristics permit a revision of the genusTropeognathus, which is shown here to be a junior synonym of other described taxa.Tropeognathus mesembrinus is referred toCriorhynchus andT. robustus toColoboryhnchus. Consistent anatomical features enable the new jaw fragment to be assigned toColoborhynchus robustus.      

A NEW PTEROSAUR FROM THE LIAONING PROVINCE OF CHINA, THE PHYLOGENY OF THE PTERODACTYLOIDEA, AND CONVERGENCE IN THEIR CERVICAL VERTEBRAE

Abstract:  The largest known flying organisms are the azhdarchid pterosaurs, a pterodactyloid clade previously diagnosed by the characters of their extremely elongate middle-series cervical vertebrae. The named species of the Azhdarchidae are from the Late Cretaceous. However, isolated mid-cervical vertebrae with similar dimensions and characters have been referred to this group that date back to the Late Jurassic, implying an almost 60 million year gap in the fossil record of this group and an unrecorded radiation in the Jurassic of all the major clades of the Pterodactyloidea. A new pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province of China, Elanodactylus prolatus gen. et sp. nov., is described with mid-cervical vertebrae that bear these azhdarchid characters but has other postcranial material that are distinct from the members of this group. Phylogenetic analysis of the new species and the Pterodactyloidea places it with the Late Jurassic vertebrae in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Ctenochasmatidae and reveals that the characters of the elongate azhdarchid vertebrae appeared independently in both groups. These results are realized though the large taxon sampling in the analysis demonstrating that the homoplastic character states present in these two taxa were acquired in a different order in their respective lineages. Some of these homoplastic characters were previously thought to appear once in the history of pterosaurs and may be correlated to the extension of the neck regions in both groups. Because the homoplastic character states in the Azhdarchidae and Ctenochasmatidae are limited to the mid-cervical vertebrae, these states are termed convergent based on a definition of the term in a phylogenetic context. A number of novel results from the analysis presented produce a reorganization in the different species and taxa of the Pterodactyloidea.     

Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) birds and pterosaurs from the Cornet bauxite mine,Romania

Abstract: We revisit a small but extremely significant collection of bird and pterosaur bones from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) of western Romania. These fossils were collected in the late 1970s and early 1980s from a Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) conglomerate lens deep in a bauxite mine at Cornet, close to the city of Oradea, Romania, and they caused a sensation when first described. Some fossils were initially ascribed to the early bird genus Archaeopteryx as well as to the modern clade Neornithes, an astonishing avian assemblage if correct. Described pterosaurs include dsungaripterids and a cervical vertebra that is likely the oldest azhdarchid pterosaur known from Europe and perhaps the world. Not only does the Cornet azhdarchid support an Eurasian origin for this clade, it is also significant because of its size: it is one of the smallest representatives of this pterosaur clade yet reported. Aside from their phylogenetic affinities, these unique Romanian fossils are also important because of their age; in particular, very few birds are known globally from the earliest Cretaceous. Re‐examination of collections in Oradea confirms the presence of both birds and pterosaurs in the Cornet bauxite: although the fragmentary bird remains are mostly indeterminate, one record of a hesperornithiform is confirmed. There is no evidence for Archaeopteryx at the Cornet site while the two supposed neornithines (Palaeocursornis biharicus Kessler and Jurcsák and Eurolimnornis corneti Kessler and Jurcsák) are based on undiagnostic remains and are here regarded as nomina dubia.     

A NEW AZHDARCHOID PTEROSAUR FROM THE CRATO FORMATION (LOWER CRETACEOUS,APTIAN?) OF BRAZIL

Abstract: A partial pterosaur skull from the Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Aptian?) represents a new edentulous pterodactyloid, Lacusovagus magnificens gen. et sp. nov. The absence of teeth and a large nasoantorbital fenestra suggest assignment to Azhdarchoidea, and the combination of a particularly short, crestless and shallow rostrum and laterally flared jaw margins distinguish it from other azhdarchoid taxa. The position of the new form within Azhdarchoidea is problematic: Lacusovagus is distinguished from Tapejaridae in its straight, as opposed to ventrally displaced, jaw tip and absence of a premaxillary crest; from thalassodromids by the absence of a premaxillary crest; and from Azhdarchidae by the short length of the rostrum and shallow posterodorsal extension of the premaxilla. Lacusovagus shares a shallow, crestless rostrum and a slender posterodorsal premaxillary extension with Jiufotang Formation azhdarchoids such as Chaoyangopterus and Jidapterus. The position of these genera within Azhdarchoidea is controversial, but the suite of plesiomorphic and derived azhdarchoid characters in each suggests a placement between Tapejaridae and Neoazhdarchia. Further research is required, however, to determine the relationships of these genera both to each other and to other azhdarchoids. The new taxon elevates the faunal similarity found between the roughly contemporaneous Jiufotang and Crato formations and continues the pattern of Crato Formation azhdarchoids being much larger than those from the Jehol Group. It also has jaws at least 67 and 55 per cent longer, respectively, than those of the largest azhdarchoids and ornithocheirids from the Crato pterosaur assemblage, making Lacusovagus the largest pterosaur known from this unit.     

The shape of pterosaur evolution: evidence from the fossil record

Abstract Although pterosaurs are a well‐known lineage of Mesozoic flying reptiles, their fossil record and evolutionary dynamics have never been adequately quantified. On the basis of a comprehensive data set of fossil occurrences correlated with taxon‐specific limb measurements, we show that the geological ages of pterosaur specimens closely approximate hypothesized patterns of phylogenetic divergence. Although the fossil record has expanded greatly in recent years, collectorship still approximates a sigmoid curve over time as many more specimens (and thus taxa) still remain undiscovered, yet our data suggest that the pterosaur fossil record is unbiased by sites of exceptional preservation (lagerstätte). This is because as new species are discovered the number of known formations and sites yielding pterosaur fossils has also increased – this would not be expected if the bulk of the record came from just a few exceptional faunas. Pterosaur morphological diversification is, however, strongly age biased: rarefaction analysis shows that peaks of diversity occur in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous correlated with periods of increased limb disparity. In this respect, pterosaurs appear unique amongst flying vertebrates in that their disparity seems to have peaked relatively late in clade history. Comparative analyses also show that there is little evidence that the evolutionary diversification of pterosaurs was in any way constrained by the appearance and radiation of birds.     

Pterosaur and dinosaur remains from the Middle Jurassic Balabansai Svita in the northern Fergana Depression, Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia)

Abstract: Isolated pterosaur and dinosaur teeth and a sauropod metatarsal I and manual phalanx V-1 from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Balabansai Svita in the northern Fergana Valley, Kyrgyzstan, are described and attributed to the pterosaur taxon Rhamphorhynchinae indet., a theropod Tetanurae indet., a sauropod Neosauropoda indet., and a new pachycephalosaurid Ferganocephale adenticulatum gen. et sp. nov. The Balabansai theropod is possibly a stem-lineage representative of Dromaeosauridae. The new pachycephalosaurid is the oldest representative of the group and extends its known history by 10–20 myr. The Balabansai vertebrate assemblage is most similar to the Callovian assemblages from the Qigu and Upper Shaximiao formations in China, and intermediate in the evolutionary level of the taxa present between the Bathonian assemblages from Wucaiwan and the Lower Shaximiao formations (China) and the Late Jurassic Shar Teg fauna from Mongolia.     

Feeding‐related characters in basal pterosaurs: implications for jaw mechanism,dental function and diet

?si, A. 2011: Feeding‐related characters in basal pterosaurs: implications for jaw mechanism, dental function and diet. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 136–152. A comparative study of various feeding‐related features in basal pterosaurs reveals a significant change in feeding strategies during the early evolutionary history of the group. These features are related to the skull architecture (e.g. quadrate morphology and orientation, jaw joint), dentition (e.g. crown morphology, wear patterns), reconstructed adductor musculature and post‐cranium. The most basal pterosaurs (Preondactylus, dimorphodontids and anurognathids) were small‐bodied animals with a wingspan no greater than 1.5 m, a relatively short, lightly constructed skull, straight mandibles with a large gape, sharply pointed teeth and well‐developed external adductors. The absence of extended tooth wear excludes complex oral food processing and indicates that jaw closure was simply orthal. Features of these basal‐most forms indicate a predominantly insectivorous diet. Among stratigraphically older but more derived forms (Eudimorphodon, Carniadactylus, Caviramus) complex, multicuspid teeth allowed the consumption of a wider variety of prey via a more effective form of food processing. This is supported by heavy dental wear in all forms with multicuspid teeth. Typical piscivorous forms occurred no earlier than the Early Jurassic, and are characterized by widely spaced, enlarged procumbent teeth forming a fish grab and an anteriorly inclined quadrate that permitted only a relatively small gape. In addition, the skull became more elongate and body size increased. Besides the dominance of piscivory, dental morphology and the scarcity of tooth wear reflect accidental dental occlusion that could have been caused by the capturing or seasonal consumption of harder food items. □Basal pterosaurs, heterodonty, dental wear, insectivory, piscivory.     

A new non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany

Background

The ‘Solnhofen Limestone’ beds of the Southern Franconian Alb, Bavaria, southern Germany, have for centuries yielded important pterosaur specimens, most notably of the genera Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus. Here we describe a new genus of non-pterodactyloid pterosaur based on an extremely well preserved fossil of a young juvenile: Bellubrunnus rothgaengeri (gen. et sp. nov.).

Methodology/Principal Findings

The specimen was examined firsthand by all authors. Additional investigation and photography under UV light to reveal details of the bones not easily seen under normal lighting regimes was completed.

Conclusions/Significance

This taxon heralds from a newly explored locality that is older than the classic Solnhofen beds. While similar to Rhamphorhynchus, the new taxon differs in the number of teeth, shape of the humerus and femur, and limb proportions. Unlike other derived non-pterodacytyloids, Bellubrunnus lacks elongate chevrons and zygapophyses in the tail, and unlike all other known pterosaurs, the wingtips are curved anteriorly, potentially giving it a unique flight profile.