Pterodactylus sp 2 (unnumbered Lauer collection) in situ and reconsructed. This specimen is distinct from the deep dug Pterodactylus sp 1 (also unnumbered Lauer collection). Specimen 2 is more primitive in the LPT.

Ningchengopterus? liuae in situ and reconsructed. See below for earlier attempt. Despite the changes, this taxon still nests within the genus clade Pterodactylus. Note the narrow at the elbow wing membrane along with the very distinct manual digit 5.

Ningchengopterus? liuae (Lü J 2009) CYGB-0035 was originally considered a "baby". Here Ningchengopterus was derived from a sister to the larger Painten pterosaur and it phylogenetically preceded Pterodactylus antiquus? AMNH 1942 (No. 20 in Wellnhofer (1970). Here it appears that Ningchengopterus was actually a basal Pterodactylus and therefore congeneric.

Distinct from the Painten pterosaur, the skull of Ningchengopterus was longer in the pre-antorbital fenestra region and lower with more teeth. Both skulls were about a centimeter tall. The cervicals were greatly elongated. The dorsals were enlarged. The caudals were more robust.

Ningchengopterus compared to Jianchangopterus (Lü and Bo 2011) and the Painten pterosaur (Frey and Tischlinger 2013). These three form a clade at the base of Pterodactylus and this clades is a sister to the Ornithocephalus, No. 9, No. 31 clade, all derived from tiny SMNS 81775. Atypically in Jianchangopterus the metacarpus is reduced, especially relative to the ulna. The tail is elongate. The tail is off the matrix in Ningchengopterus and buried in the Painten pterosaur.

Jianchangopterus zhaoianus (Lü and Bo 2011; Middle Jurassic) nests with Douzhanopterus (below) at the base of the Pterodactylidae. Bo and Lu 2011 considered Jianchangopterus a scaphognathid close to Sordes. Here they are compared to one another.

The expanded family tree of the Pterosauria is here.

Douzhanopterus zhengi (Wang et al. 2017; STM 19–35A & B; Late Jurassic, large insitu skeleton above) was originally considered a 'Monofenestratan' pterosaur related to Kupengopterus. Here it nests as a larger sister to Jianchangopterus at the base of the Pterodactylidae. Originally the skull and soft tissue membranes were overlooked.

STM 19-59 (Jiang et al. 2021; Late Jurassic) was originally considered a juvenile Kunpengopterus, but after analysis nests between Douzhanopterus and Jinchangopterus and is the same size as Jinchangopterus. Soft tissue preserves a narrow chord wing membrane. The long tail is a reversal in this clade. The orbital region of the skull is extremely gracile.

Several correct and incorrect assignments to Pterodactylus. Click to enlarge. Many of these taxa (specimens) were assigned to the genus Pterodactylus by Wellnhofer (1970) and other authorities before the advent of computer assisted phylogenetic analysis and before most of them were graphically reconstructed and scaled to make comparisons easier. Furthermore, these assignments were made under the false assumption that pterosaurs, like mammals and archosaurus (including crocs and birds) changed as they matured, developing a relatively longer snout and smaller eye. Embryo pterosaurs demonstrate that relatively little changed during maturity, especially in the proportions of the skull.

Tischlinger H and Frey E 2013. Ein neuer Pterosaurier mit Mosaikmerkmalen basaler und pterodactyloider Pterosauria aus dem Ober-Kimmeridgium von Painten (Oberpfalz, Deutschland) — A new pterosaur with mosaic characters of basal and pterodactyloid pterosauria from the Upper Kimmeridgian of Painten (Upper Palatinate, Germany) Archaeopteryx 31:1-13.

Lü J 2009. A baby pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 83 (1): 1–8.

Lü J and Bo X 2011. A New Rhamphorhynchid Pterosaur (Pterosauria) from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Western Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 85(5): 977–983.

Wang et al. 2017. New evidence from China for the nature of the pterosaur evolutionary transition. Nature Scientific Reports 7, 42763; doi: 10.1038/srep42763

wiki/Pterodactylus
wiki/Jianchangopterus
wiki/Ningchengopterus