Unnamed Istiodactylid SMNK PAL 1136 (not yet described, figured by Frey and Marill 1994) ~80 cm skull length, Aptian, Early Cretaceous ~130 mya was originally considered an Anhanguera sp. Here it was derived from a sister to Nurhachius and was a sister to Istiodactylus. This pterosaur was a head taller than Coloborhynchus and Istiodactylus. It left no known descendants.
Larger and distinct from Istiodactylus, the skull of SMNK PAL 1136 had the antorbital fenestra extend into the anterior rostrum just posterior to the premaxillary crest. The orbit was high and small. It was located just aft of the mandibular articulation. The jugal + lacrimal were reduced to slender rods oriented dorsoposteriorly. The sternal complex had a large keel and a reduced sternal plate. The scapulocoracoid was gracile. The gracile humerus expanded distally. Manual 4.1 extended to the elbow when folded. The pelvis was relatively smaller than in Coloborhynchus and the prepubis was tiny. The femur was considerably shorter than the tibia.
Lonchodraco is known from a portion of the rostrum.
Lingyuanopterus camposi (Xu, Jiang and Wang 2022, IVPP V 17940, Early Cretaceous) was originally considered a sister to Luchibang, a large pterodactylid. Here Lingyuanopterus nests with the much larger SMNK PAL 1136 specimen among the istiodactylids. |
