The fossil of Moganopterus was discovered at the village of Xiaosanjiazi near the town of Lamadong in Liaoning Province. In 2012 it was named and described by Lü Junchang, Pu Hanyong, Xu Li, Wu Yanhua and Wei Xuefang as the type speciesMoganopterus zhuiana. The generic name is derived from the legendary sword couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, in reference to the blade-like jaws, and a Latinized Greek πτερόν, pteron, "wing". The specific name honors Ms. Zhu Haifen, who made the specimen available to science.[1]
The holotype, 41HIII0419, was uncovered in a layer of the Yixian Formation, dating from the Aptian, about 125 million years old. It consists of an almost complete skull with lower jaws and the second to fourth neck vertebrae. The fossil is compressed on a slab and counterslab, the splitting of the two plates having damaged some bones. The specimen is part of the collection of the Geological Museum of Henan.[1]
Descriptionedit
Moganopterus is a large pterosaur. The skull has a preserved length of about 95 centimeters (3.12 ft) and the longest preserved neck vertebra, the fourth, a length of 14.5 centimeters (5.7 in). The skull is the largest known of any toothed pterosaur. The size of skull and neck indicates a wingspan of about 7 meters (23 ft), making Moganopterus one of the largest known ctenochasmid pterosaurs.[1] However, the maximum wingspan was reduced to 3.5 m (11 ft) in the redescription of the holotype by Gao et al. (2022).[2]
Apart from the size, the describers established some diagnostic traits. The jaws are very elongated and have straight edges. The total number of teeth in the skull is at least sixty-two. The large skull opening, the fenestra nasoantorbitalis, is rectangular and represents 22% of the snout length. The back of the skull bears a long and narrow parietal crest, sticking out at an angle of 15° to the longitudinal skull axis. Not taking into account the crest, the skull is 11.5 times longer than tall. The neck vertebrae are five times longer than high.[1]
Moganopterus shows an extreme elongation of the upper and lower jaws. The back of the skull is just 6 centimeters (2.4 in) high and its top gradually descends towards the pointed snout tip. On the front of the snout, a low triangular crest is present, measuring 5 centimeters (2.0 in) long and 6 millimeters (0.24 in) tall. The profile of the skull is continued by a narrow crest sticking out at the back, similar to Pteranodon. It is unknown whether this crest was flat or rod-like; its length cannot be determined because it reaches the edge of the slabs. The lower jaws, lacking a keel, have a length of 68.5 centimeters (2.25 ft). They are about as tall as the snout and have a pointed tip.[1]
The jaws are lined with long conical pointed teeth, up to 31 millimeters (1.2 in) in length, slightly recurved and more or less oriented vertically. The describers estimated there were fifteen teeth in the upper jaw and seventeen in the lower jaw for a total of sixty-four, which closely matches the number of sixty-two actually found. The teeth rows stretch from the very front of the head until the back edge of the fenestra nasoantorbitalis. They are associated with oblique cellular structures visible in the bone of the upper and lower jaws, the nature of which has not been determined. Hollow structures, reinforced by struts, can also be seen in the parietal crest and the vertebrae. The fourth cervical is 7.25 times as long as it is tall.[1]
^ abcdefghiLü Junchang; Pu Hanyong; Xu Li; Wu Yanhua; Wei Xuefang (2012). "Largest Toothed Pterosaur Skull from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning, China, with Comments On the Family Boreopteridae". Acta Geologica Sinica. 86 (2): 287–293. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2012.00658.x. S2CID 130163272.
^Gao DS, Jiang SX, Xu L, Cheng X, Yang LL, Jia SH, Wang XL (2022). "Reappraisal of the largest ctenochasmatid Moganopterus zhuiana Lü et al., 2012". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. in press. doi:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.220111.
^Longrich, N.R.; Martill, D.M.; Andres, B. (2018). "Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary". PLOS Biology. 16 (3): e2001663. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2001663. PMC5849296. PMID 29534059.
moganopterus, extinct, genus, ctenochasmatid, pterosaur, from, early, cretaceous, western, liaoning, province, china, temporal, range, early, cretaceous, preꞒ, reconstruction, overcast, scientific, classification, domain, eukaryota, kingdom, animalia, phylum, . Moganopterus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province China 1 MoganopterusTemporal range Early Cretaceous 124 5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N A reconstruction of Moganopterus on an overcast day Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Order Pterosauria Suborder Pterodactyloidea Family Ctenochasmatidae Subfamily Moganopterinae Genus MoganopterusLu et al 2012 Type species Moganopterus zhuianaLu et al 2012 Contents 1 Discovery and naming 2 Description 3 Phylogeny 4 See also 5 ReferencesDiscovery and naming editThe fossil of Moganopterus was discovered at the village of Xiaosanjiazi near the town of Lamadong in Liaoning Province In 2012 it was named and described by Lu Junchang Pu Hanyong Xu Li Wu Yanhua and Wei Xuefang as the type species Moganopterus zhuiana The generic name is derived from the legendary sword couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye in reference to the blade like jaws and a Latinized Greek pteron pteron wing The specific name honors Ms Zhu Haifen who made the specimen available to science 1 The holotype 41HIII0419 was uncovered in a layer of the Yixian Formation dating from the Aptian about 125 million years old It consists of an almost complete skull with lower jaws and the second to fourth neck vertebrae The fossil is compressed on a slab and counterslab the splitting of the two plates having damaged some bones The specimen is part of the collection of the Geological Museum of Henan 1 Description editMoganopterus is a large pterosaur The skull has a preserved length of about 95 centimeters 3 12 ft and the longest preserved neck vertebra the fourth a length of 14 5 centimeters 5 7 in The skull is the largest known of any toothed pterosaur The size of skull and neck indicates a wingspan of about 7 meters 23 ft making Moganopterus one of the largest known ctenochasmid pterosaurs 1 However the maximum wingspan was reduced to 3 5 m 11 ft in the redescription of the holotype by Gao et al 2022 2 Apart from the size the describers established some diagnostic traits The jaws are very elongated and have straight edges The total number of teeth in the skull is at least sixty two The large skull opening the fenestra nasoantorbitalis is rectangular and represents 22 of the snout length The back of the skull bears a long and narrow parietal crest sticking out at an angle of 15 to the longitudinal skull axis Not taking into account the crest the skull is 11 5 times longer than tall The neck vertebrae are five times longer than high 1 Moganopterus shows an extreme elongation of the upper and lower jaws The back of the skull is just 6 centimeters 2 4 in high and its top gradually descends towards the pointed snout tip On the front of the snout a low triangular crest is present measuring 5 centimeters 2 0 in long and 6 millimeters 0 24 in tall The profile of the skull is continued by a narrow crest sticking out at the back similar to Pteranodon It is unknown whether this crest was flat or rod like its length cannot be determined because it reaches the edge of the slabs The lower jaws lacking a keel have a length of 68 5 centimeters 2 25 ft They are about as tall as the snout and have a pointed tip 1 The jaws are lined with long conical pointed teeth up to 31 millimeters 1 2 in in length slightly recurved and more or less oriented vertically The describers estimated there were fifteen teeth in the upper jaw and seventeen in the lower jaw for a total of sixty four which closely matches the number of sixty two actually found The teeth rows stretch from the very front of the head until the back edge of the fenestra nasoantorbitalis They are associated with oblique cellular structures visible in the bone of the upper and lower jaws the nature of which has not been determined Hollow structures reinforced by struts can also be seen in the parietal crest and the vertebrae The fourth cervical is 7 25 times as long as it is tall 1 Phylogeny editIn 2012 Moganopterus was assigned to the Boreopteridae forming a Moganopterinae with its sister taxon Feilongus 1 Below is a cladogram from Lu et al 2012 Only taxa that nest within Ornithocheiroidea are shown 1 Ornithocheiroidea Boreopteridae Boreopterinae Boreopterus Zhenyuanopterus Moganopterinae Feilongus Moganopterus Pteranodontia Pteranodon Nyctosaurus Muzquizopteryx Istiodactylidae Haopterus Istiodactylus Nurhachius Ornithocheiridae Ludodactylus Ornithocheirus Anhanguera Coloborhynchus Cladogram following Longrich Martill and Andres 2018 in which they place Moganopterus within the Ctenochasmatidae instead of the Boreopteridae 3 Ctenochasmatoidea Gallodactylidae Cycnorhamphus suevicus Normannognathus wellnhoferi Ctenochasmatidae Kepodactylus Moganopterinae Moganopterus Feilongus Ardeadactylus Elanodactylus Gnathosaurinae Huanhepterus Plataleorhynchus Gnathosaurus Ctenochasmatinae nbsp See also editList of pterosaur genera Timeline of pterosaur researchReferences edit a b c d e f g h i Lu Junchang Pu Hanyong Xu Li Wu Yanhua Wei Xuefang 2012 Largest Toothed Pterosaur Skull from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning China with Comments On the Family Boreopteridae Acta Geologica Sinica 86 2 287 293 doi 10 1111 j 1755 6724 2012 00658 x S2CID 130163272 Gao DS Jiang SX Xu L Cheng X Yang LL Jia SH Wang XL 2022 Reappraisal of the largest ctenochasmatid Moganopterus zhuiana Lu et al 2012 Vertebrata PalAsiatica in press doi 10 19615 j cnki 2096 9899 220111 Longrich N R Martill D M Andres B 2018 Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous Paleogene boundary PLOS Biology 16 3 e2001663 doi 10 1371 journal pbio 2001663 PMC 5849296 PMID 29534059 Portals nbsp Paleontology nbsp China Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Moganopterus amp oldid 1206862295, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
