Huanhepterus quinyangensis IVPP 9070 (Dong 1982), Late Jurassic ~150mya, was considered a ctenochasmatid and a gnathosaurine, but is related to neither. Despite its earlier appearance Huanhepterus was derived from a sister to Beipiaopterus and TM 10341 - n1, Huanhepterus is the last of its lineage. The only data for this taxon remains the drawing by Dong (1982) and a photo of the skull.
Overall larger than and distinct from tiny n1, the skull of Huanhepterus was longer with larger teeth and surmounted by a long nasal crest. The antorbital fenestra was reduced. The naris may have been retained, but crushing of the skull leaves this difficult to determine. The premaxilla curled ventrally, lower than the maxilla. Teeth were restricted to the anterior half of the skull. A dentary keel was present.
Overall larger than and distinct from Beipiaopterus, the cervicals were greatly elongated. The fifth and sixth were the longest, with the fourth not far behind. The torso was relatively longer.
The sternal complex was a wide, seven-sided plate close to the shield shape of Beipiaopterus. The relatively shorter humerus was concave anteriorly and more robust with a longer, less defined deltopectoral crest (was it broken off?). The antebrachium was more gracile. The metacarpus was no longer. Manual 4.1 did not extend to mid ulna. The height of the folded wing was much shorter than the standing height of this pterosaur. The fingers are unknown, but were no doubt relatively smaller.
The pelvis is difficult to determine. No prepubis was described. The femur was shorter than the ilium. The tibia was more than twice the length of the femur. The metatarsals were longer and the toes were shorter.
Also shown here are Mesadactylus and Ardeadactylus, two phylogenetic relatives.
See the pterosaur family tree here. |
