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Abstract
A partial skeleton of a new pterosaur, Jianchangnathus robustus gen. et sp. nov. from western Liaoning, China, is described. The specimen (IVPP V16866) was collected near Linglongta, Jianchang County, whose deposits have a disputed age that range from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. The new species shares several features with the non-pterodactyloid Scaphognathus from the Late Jurassic deposits of southern Germany, such as a deep anterior end of the lower jaw, a piriform lower temporal fenestra with the ventral margin broader than the dorsal one and the interalveolar spacing of the maxillary teeth about three alveolar spaces, allowing its allocation to the Scaphognathidae. The main diagnostic features of J. robustus include the large maxillary process of the jugal, the convex alveolar margin of the lower jaw and the procumbent disposition of the first three pairs of dentary teeth. The new Chinese taxon also differs from Fenghuangopterus lii, which comes from the same deposit and is here regarded as Scaphognathidae incertae sedis, mainly by the lower number of teeth and several proportions of the wing elements. The discovery of J. robustus demonstrates a larger diversity in the pterosaur fauna of the Linglongta region so far dominated by the non-pterodactyloid clade Wukongopteridae.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr Zhou Zhong-He (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) and Dr. Miao De-Sui (Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA) for reading the manuscript; Xiang Long for preparing the specimen; Zhang Jie for the photographs; and two anonymous reviewers for several suggestions that improved the manuscript. This study was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (40825005) and National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program; 2012CB821903). AWAK acknowledges the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ No. E-26/102.779/2008 and E-26/111.273/2010) and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq No. 307276/2009-0) for supporting research in China.
