Abstract
Abstract. In the Jehol Biota, the filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaurs flourished with a high biodiversity. Here, we report a new wing skeleton of the ctenochasmatid Forfexopterus from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in Jianchang, western Liaoning, China. The specimen exhibits the sole autapomorphy, the first wing phalanx shorter than the second and longer than the third. Interestingly, it exhibits a skeletal maturity with co-ossified elements, but it is only about 75 % the size of the immature holotype. This discrepancy reveals developmental variation of Forfexopterus, but its relationship with sexual dimorphism needs to be certain by more available material.
Highlights
In the Jehol Biota, the filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaurs flourished with a high diversity
We report a new ctenochasmatid specimen from the same area based on a forelimb. It is proportionally comparable with Forfexopterus jeholensis (HM V20, Hami Museum, Hami, China; the type and sole specimen) in which the first wing phalanx is shorter than the second phalanx and longer than the third phalanx (Jiang et al, 2016)
The slab is a block of lacustrine sediments constituted of gray-grayish white shales, which was discovered from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of the Xiaoyaogou site, about 3.5 km southwest to the Xiaotaizi site
Summary
In the Jehol Biota, the filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaurs flourished with a high diversity. Two taxa – Moganopterus and Forfexopterus – are only known from the Jiufotang Formation in Lamadong Town, Jianchang County, western Liaoning Province (Lü et al, 2012; Jiang et al, 2016). We report a new ctenochasmatid specimen from the same area based on a forelimb It is proportionally comparable with Forfexopterus jeholensis (HM V20, Hami Museum, Hami, China; the type and sole specimen) in which the first wing phalanx is shorter than the second phalanx and longer than the third phalanx (Jiang et al, 2016). It exhibits osteological maturity, in contrast to the immature HM V20, revealing developmental variation of Forfexopterus, as in other known pterosaurs (e.g., Rhamphorhynchus, Pteranodon)
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