Wukongopterus

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Wukongopterus
Temporal range: Middle or Late Jurassic, 164 Ma
PreꞒ
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S
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Wukongopterus-Paleozoological Museum of China.jpg
Holotype, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Family: †Wukongopteridae
Subfamily: †Wukongopterinae
Genus: †Wukongopterus
Wang et al., 2009
Species:
†W. lii
Binomial name
†Wukongopterus lii
Wang et al., 2009

Wukongopterus is a genus of basal pterosaur, found in Liaoning, China, from the Daohugou Beds, of the Middle or Late Jurassic. It was unusual for having both an elongate neck and a long tail.[1]

Restoration

The genus was described and named in 2009 by , Alexander Kellner, and . The genus name is derived from Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, the main hero of the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, and a Latinized Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name honours , senior preparator of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).[1]

The genus is based on holotype IVPP V15113, a nearly complete but compressed skeleton lacking the back and middle of the skull. The type individual appears to have broken its shin during life. Its wingspan is estimated at 730 millimeters (29 in). Wukongopterus also may have had an uropatagium, a membrane between the hind legs.[1]

Classification[]

Below is a cladogram following Wang et al. (2017) [2]

Monofenestrata
 

Wukongopterus lii

 
 
Darwinopterus
 

Darwinopterus modularis

 
 

Darwinopterus robustodens

 
 

Darwinopterus linglongtaensis

 
 
 
 

Kunpengopterus sinensis

 
 
 

Douzhanopterus zhangi

 
 
 

"Painten pro-pterodactyloid"

 
 

Pterodactyloidea

 
 
 
 
 
 

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Wang X.; Kellner, A. W. A.; Jiang S.; Meng X. (2009). "An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 81 (4): 793–812. doi:10.1590/S0001-37652009000400016. PMID 19893903.
  2. ^ Wang, X.; Jiang, S.; Zhang, J.; Cheng, X.; Yu, X.; Li, Y.; Wei, G.; Wang, X. (2017). "New evidence from China for the nature of the pterosaur evolutionary transition". Scientific Reports. 7: 42763. doi:10.1038/srep42763. PMC 5311862. PMID 28202936.
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