Tupandactylus

Tupandactylus imperator (Campos and Kellner 1997; ~110 mya, Late Aptian, Early Cretaceous; skull length ~1m; MCT 1622-R) and a 2011 specimen CPCA 3590) is one of the most spectabular pterosaurs ever discovered. It was derived from a sister toSinopterus dongi and Tapejara and represented the last of this lineage.

Distinct from Tapejara, the skull of Tupandactylus was longer with an even taller rostral crest and a longer cranial crest. Between them a soft tissue crest spanned these masts.

The expanded family tree of the Pterosauria is here.

Above: Members of the Tapejaridae led byGermanodactylus cristatus. A gradual increase in size and the size of the crest is evident. Sinopterus, Huaxipterus, Tapejara, Tupandactylus, Tupuxuara, the Goshura specimen and Thalassodromeus are shown.

Campos DA and Kellner AWA 1997. Short note on the first occurrence of Tapejaridae in the Crato Member (Aptian), Santana Formation, Araripe Basin, Northeast Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira Ciências 69 (1): 83–87.

Kellner AWA and Campos DA 2007. Short note on the ingroup relationships of the Tapejaridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea" Boletim do Museu Nacional 75: 1–14.

Unwin DM and Martill DM 2007. Pterosaurs of the Crato Formation. In Martill, D. M., Bechly, G. and Loveridge, R. F. (eds), The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge), pp. 475-524.

Eopteranodontia

Shenzhoupteridae

Dsungaripteridae

Tapejaridae