| Discovery of a rare arboreal forest-dwelling flying reptile (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from China. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 18268340 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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A previously undescribed toothless flying reptile from northeastern China, Nemicolopterus crypticus gen. et sp. nov., was discovered in the lacustrine sediments of the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation, western Liaoning, China. The specimen consists of an almost complete articulated skeleton (IVPP V14377) and, despite representing an immature individual, based on the ossification of the skeleton, it is not a hatchling or newborn, making it one of the smallest pterosaurs known so far (wing span approximately 250 mm). It can be distinguished from all other pterosaurs by the presence of a short medial nasal process, an inverted "knife-shaped" deltopectoral crest of the humerus, and the presence of a well developed posterior process on the femur above the articulation with the tibia. It further shows the penultimate phalanges of the foot curved in a degree not reported in any pterosaur before, strongly indicating that it had an arboreal lifestyle, more than any other pterodactyloid pterosaur known so far. It is the sister-group of the Ornithocheiroidea and indicates that derived pterosaurs, including some gigantic forms of the Late Cretaceous with wingspans of >6 m, are closely related to small arboreal toothless creatures that likely were living in the canopies of the ancient forests feeding on insects. |
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Authors:
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Xiaolin Wang; Alexander W A Kellner; Zhonghe Zhou; Diogenes de Almeida Campos |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2008-02-11 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume: 105 ISSN: 1091-6490 ISO Abbreviation: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Publication Date: 2008 Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2008-02-14 Completed Date: 2008-03-31 Revised Date: 2010-09-22 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7505876 Medline TA: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1983-7 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 643, Beijing 100044, China. xlinwang@263.net |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals China Flight, Animal* Phylogeny Reptiles* / anatomy & histology, classification, physiology |
| Comments/Corrections | |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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