A new archaeopterodactyloid pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China, with a comparison of sterna in Pterodactylomorpha

ABSTRACT

Eleven species of archaeopterodactyloid pterosaurs have been reported in China, mostly from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning. The first uncontroversial archaeopterodactyloid from the Jiufotang Formation is described here. A new genus and species, Forfexopterus jeholensis, is erected on the basis of a unique combination of characters and one autapomorphy: the first wing phalanx is shorter than the second, but longer than the third. The sternum of Forfexopterus is nearly complete and provides the first incontrovertible evidence about the position of sternocoracoid articulations in the Archaeopterodactyloidea. A preliminary geometric morphometric analysis of sterna was carried out with data from 17 species of Pterodactylomorpha. The results document the variation in the shape of the sternum, including the length of the cristospine, the shapes of the lateral, posterior, and anterior margins, and the constriction and expansion of the cristospine. These characters can be used to compare sterna in different pterosaur taxa.

Citation for this article: Jiang, S., X. Cheng, Y. Ma, and X. Wang. 2016. A new archaeopterodactyloid pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China, with a comparison of sterna in Pterodactylomorpha. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1212058.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:41B25239-6220-4006-82CD-1624B36A38EB

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank L. Xiang (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for the preparation of the specimen and S. Xing (IVPP) for his help with the GM analysis; we also thank L. Xu, S.-H. Jia (Henan Geological Museum), and C.-L. Sun (Jilin University) for access to pterosaur specimens. We would also like to express our gratitude to the three reviewers and the editor for their comments, which improved the manuscript. We are also indebted to D. Hone and the editor R. J. Butler for their polishing of the manuscript and several comments. This study was supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2012CB821900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41572020), the Hundred Talents Project of CAS, the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (40825005), and the Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, CAS (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology).