Eosipterus yangi (Ji and Ji 1997) GMV 2117 Early Cretaceous, ~1.2 m wingspan has been associated with Pterodactylus and Ctenochasma. Here Eosipterus was derived from a sister to JME Moe 12 and was a sister to Germanodactylus BMM.

Distinct from the JME specimen, the skull was much smaller, relatively the smallest among pterosaurs. The mandible appears to be shorter than the rostrum. The anterior maxillaery teeth are fangs.

The pectoral girdle was more robust, including a larger sternal complex. The gastralia were very wide, indicating a much wider belly than chest.

The forelimb (wing was more roubust. Fingers I-III were much longer. Manual 4.2 extended beyond the elbow and the wing extended above the skull when the fingers were on the ground.

The ilium had a longer posterior process. The ventral pelvis was anteroposteriorly shorter. The pubis was deeper than the pelvis.

The family tree of the Ornithocephalia and Germanodactylia is here. The expanded family tree of the Pterosauria is here.

Cuspicephalus scarfi (MJML K1918, Martill and Etches 2011, prepublished online here) is a new "monofenestratan pterosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic, Kimmeridgian) of Dorset, England." While noting resemblances to Germanodactylus, those were dismissed by “the presence of teeth on the distal rostrum” (but see below). They reported, “The dentition and posterior skull morphology suggest affinities with Darwinopterus, but a close relationship cannot be proved.”

Here, added to the large pterosaur study, Cuspicephalus nested within the genus Germanodactylus at the base of the division between the No. 61 specimen, G. cristatus on one branch, and Elanodactylus + Prejanopterus on the other. The expanded exoccipital/squamosal “ear” is a key trait found in sisters, plus the rostral and cranial crest are common in this clade. The supposition that no teeth appear on the distal rostrum of other Germanodactylus is false. The authors also overlooked a narrow mandible present on the fossil and discovered using DGS (digital graphic segregation). Cuspicephalus has the longest antorbital fenestra and the most gracile mandible of the germanodactylids. I would expect the post-crania to be likewise gracile.

Ji S-A and Ji Q 1997. Discovery of a new pterosaur in Western Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 71(1): 1-6 [in Chinese].

Ji S-A, Ji Q and Padian K 1999. Biostratigraphy of new pterosaurs from China. Nature 398: 573-574.

Martill DM and Etches S 2011. A new monofenestratan pterosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic, Kimmeridgian) of Dorset, England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica in press.doi:10.4202/app.2011.0071. online pdf

Unwin DM 2003. On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs. In: Buffetaut E. & J-M. Mazin, Eds. Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. London, Geological Society Special Publication 217: 139-190.

Unwin DM, Lü J and Bakhurina NN 2000. On the systematic and stratigraphic significance of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (Jehol Group) of Liaoning, China. Mitteilngen der Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Geowissenschftlichen Reihe 3: 181-206.

wiki/Eosipterus