Cycnorhamphus: Difference between revisions
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In 1855, a [[fossil]] in a plate of [[shale]] from the [[Kimmeridgian]], found near [[Nusplingen]] in [[Württemberg]], [[holotype]] GPIT "Orig. Quenstedt 1855, Taf. 1" or '''GPIT 80''', was named ''[[Pterodactylus]] Suevicus'' by [[Friedrich August Quenstedt]].<ref>Quenstedt, F.A., 1855, ''Über ''Pterodactylus Suevicus'' im lithographischen Schiefer Württembergs'', Tübingen, 52 pp</ref><ref>F. A. Quenstedt. 1856. ''Sonst und Jetzt. Populäre Vorträge über Geologie [Then and Now. Popular Lectures on Geology]'' viii-288</ref><ref name=SCB96/> Quenstedt had earlier mentioned the find in a letter to Professor [[Heinrich Georg Bronn]], which was published in 1854. In it he used the name ''Pterodactylus Württembergicus''.<ref>Quenstedt, F.A. 1854. "Mittheilungen an Professor Bronn gerichtet". ''Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde'', '''1854''': 570-571</ref> In 1855 and 1858,[[Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer]] adopted this older species name but it would be forgotten afterwards. The publication in 1854 was not meant to be a nomenclatural act.<ref name=Bennett2013/> According to [[Peter Wellnhofer]], ''Pterodactylus württembergicus'' should be considered a ''[[nomen oblitum]]''.<ref name="Wellnhofer1970">Wellnhofer, P. 1970. "Die Pterodactyloidea (Pterosauria) der Oberjura-Plattenkalke Süddeutschlands", ''Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-wissenschaftlichen Klasse, Abhandlungen'', '''141''' : 1-133</ref> |
In 1855, a [[fossil]] in a plate of [[shale]] from the [[Kimmeridgian]], found near [[Nusplingen]] in [[Württemberg]], [[holotype]] GPIT "Orig. Quenstedt 1855, Taf. 1" or '''GPIT 80''', was named ''[[Pterodactylus]] Suevicus'' by [[Friedrich August Quenstedt]].<ref>Quenstedt, F.A., 1855, ''Über ''Pterodactylus Suevicus'' im lithographischen Schiefer Württembergs'', Tübingen, 52 pp</ref><ref>F. A. Quenstedt. 1856. ''Sonst und Jetzt. Populäre Vorträge über Geologie [Then and Now. Popular Lectures on Geology]'' viii-288</ref><ref name=SCB96/> Quenstedt had earlier mentioned the find in a letter to Professor [[Heinrich Georg Bronn]], which was published in 1854. In it he used the name ''Pterodactylus Württembergicus''.<ref>Quenstedt, F.A. 1854. "Mittheilungen an Professor Bronn gerichtet". ''Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde'', '''1854''': 570-571</ref> In 1855 and 1858,[[Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer]] adopted this older species name but it would be forgotten afterwards. The publication in 1854 was not meant to be a nomenclatural act.<ref name=Bennett2013/> According to [[Peter Wellnhofer]], ''Pterodactylus württembergicus'' should be considered a ''[[nomen oblitum]]''.<ref name="Wellnhofer1970">Wellnhofer, P. 1970. "Die Pterodactyloidea (Pterosauria) der Oberjura-Plattenkalke Süddeutschlands", ''Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-wissenschaftlichen Klasse, Abhandlungen'', '''141''' : 1-133</ref> |
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In 1858, [[Johann Andreas Wagner]] described a second specimen consisting of the wings, a shinbone and a foot. He named it ''Pterodactylus (Ornithocephalus) eurychirus'', "the broad-handed", but later in the same publication used the name ''Pterodactylus suevicus eurychirus'' as if it were a [[subspecies]]. This is today considered a junior synonym. The specimen was acquired by the ''Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie'' but was lost in 1944 during the Munich bombardment.<ref name="Wellnhofer1970"/> |
In 1858, [[Johann Andreas Wagner]] described a second specimen consisting of the wings, a shinbone and a foot. He named it ''Pterodactylus (Ornithocephalus) eurychirus'', "the broad-handed", but later in the same publication used the name ''Pterodactylus suevicus eurychirus'' as if it were a [[subspecies]].<ref>Wagner, A., 1858, "Neue beitrage zur Kenntnis der urweltlichen Fauna des lithographischen Schiefers. 1. Abt. Saurier", ''Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-wissenschaftliche Klasse'', '''8''': 417-528</ref> This is today considered a junior synonym. The specimen was acquired by the ''Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie'' but was lost in 1944 during the Munich bombardment.<ref name="Wellnhofer1970"/> |
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In 1870, [[Harry Govier Seeley]] assigned it to a new genus: ''Cycnorhamphus''.<ref>H. G. Seeley. 1870. ''The Ornithosauria: an elementary study of the bones of pterodactyles, made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co, Cambridge''</ref> In 1907 however, [[Felix Plieninger]] rejected this split, an opinion then shared by most paleontologists. In 1974, [[Jacques Fabre]], when concluding that a new species found and named by him, ''Gallodactylus canjuersensis'', was the same genus as ''P. suevicus'', did not revive ''Cycnorhamphus'', but judged that the latter name was unavailable because of mistakes in the diagnosis by Seeley. ''P. suevicus'' thus became ''Gallodactylus suevicus''. However, in 1996, Christopher Bennett pointed out that such mistakes do not invalidate a name and that therefore ''Cycnorhamphus'' has priority, making ''Gallodactylus canjuersensis'' ''C. canjuersensis''.<ref name=SCB96>{{cite journal |last=Bennett |first=S. Christopher |author-link=S. Christopher Bennett |year=1996 |title=On the taxonomic status of ''Cycnorhamphus'' and ''Gallodactylus'' (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) |journal= Journal of Paleontology |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=335–338 |doi=10.1017/S0022336000023441 }}</ref> In 2010 and 2012, Bennett published further re-studies of the fossils, concluding that the differences between the two species could be explained by age, sex or individual variation, and formally synonymized ''C. canjuersensis'' and ''C. suevicus''.<ref name=Bennett2013>{{Cite journal | last1 = Bennett | first1 = S. C. | doi = 10.1127/0077-7749/2012/0295 | title = The morphology and taxonomy of the pterosaur ''Cycnorhamphus'' | journal = Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen | volume = 267 | pages = 23–41 | year = 2013 }}</ref> |
In 1870, [[Harry Govier Seeley]] assigned it to a new genus: ''Cycnorhamphus''.<ref>H. G. Seeley. 1870. ''The Ornithosauria: an elementary study of the bones of pterodactyles, made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co, Cambridge''</ref> In 1907 however, [[Felix Plieninger]] rejected this split, an opinion then shared by most paleontologists. In 1974, [[Jacques Fabre]], when concluding that a new species found and named by him, ''Gallodactylus canjuersensis'', was the same genus as ''P. suevicus'', did not revive ''Cycnorhamphus'', but judged that the latter name was unavailable because of mistakes in the diagnosis by Seeley. ''P. suevicus'' thus became ''Gallodactylus suevicus''. However, in 1996, Christopher Bennett pointed out that such mistakes do not invalidate a name and that therefore ''Cycnorhamphus'' has priority, making ''Gallodactylus canjuersensis'' ''C. canjuersensis''.<ref name=SCB96>{{cite journal |last=Bennett |first=S. Christopher |author-link=S. Christopher Bennett |year=1996 |title=On the taxonomic status of ''Cycnorhamphus'' and ''Gallodactylus'' (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) |journal= Journal of Paleontology |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=335–338 |doi=10.1017/S0022336000023441 }}</ref> In 2010 and 2012, Bennett published further re-studies of the fossils, concluding that the differences between the two species could be explained by age, sex or individual variation, and formally synonymized ''C. canjuersensis'' and ''C. suevicus''.<ref name=Bennett2013>{{Cite journal | last1 = Bennett | first1 = S. C. | doi = 10.1127/0077-7749/2012/0295 | title = The morphology and taxonomy of the pterosaur ''Cycnorhamphus'' | journal = Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen | volume = 267 | pages = 23–41 | year = 2013 }}</ref> |
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Revision as of 08:04, 9 March 2022
| Cycnorhamphus Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
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|---|---|
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| Juvenile specimen | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Ctenochasmatoidea |
| Family: | †Gallodactylidae |
| Genus: | †Cycnorhamphus Seeley, 1870 |
| Species: | †C. suevicus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Cycnorhamphus suevicus (Quenstedt, 1855)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
| |
Cycnorhamphus (meaning "swan beak") is a genus of gallodactylid ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic period of France and Germany, about 152 million years ago.[1] It is probably synonymous with the genus Gallodactylus.
History
In 1855, a fossil in a plate of shale from the Kimmeridgian, found near Nusplingen in Württemberg, holotype GPIT "Orig. Quenstedt 1855, Taf. 1" or GPIT 80, was named Pterodactylus Suevicus by Friedrich August Quenstedt.[2][3][4] Quenstedt had earlier mentioned the find in a letter to Professor Heinrich Georg Bronn, which was published in 1854. In it he used the name Pterodactylus Württembergicus.[5] In 1855 and 1858,Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer adopted this older species name but it would be forgotten afterwards. The publication in 1854 was not meant to be a nomenclatural act.[6] According to Peter Wellnhofer, Pterodactylus württembergicus should be considered a nomen oblitum.[7]
In 1858, Johann Andreas Wagner described a second specimen consisting of the wings, a shinbone and a foot. He named it Pterodactylus (Ornithocephalus) eurychirus, "the broad-handed", but later in the same publication used the name Pterodactylus suevicus eurychirus as if it were a subspecies.[8] This is today considered a junior synonym. The specimen was acquired by the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie but was lost in 1944 during the Munich bombardment.[7]
In 1870, Harry Govier Seeley assigned it to a new genus: Cycnorhamphus.[9] In 1907 however, Felix Plieninger rejected this split, an opinion then shared by most paleontologists. In 1974, Jacques Fabre, when concluding that a new species found and named by him, Gallodactylus canjuersensis, was the same genus as P. suevicus, did not revive Cycnorhamphus, but judged that the latter name was unavailable because of mistakes in the diagnosis by Seeley. P. suevicus thus became Gallodactylus suevicus. However, in 1996, Christopher Bennett pointed out that such mistakes do not invalidate a name and that therefore Cycnorhamphus has priority, making Gallodactylus canjuersensis C. canjuersensis.[4] In 2010 and 2012, Bennett published further re-studies of the fossils, concluding that the differences between the two species could be explained by age, sex or individual variation, and formally synonymized C. canjuersensis and C. suevicus.[6]
Description
Cycnorhamphus had historically been assumed to have had long jaws with teeth at the very tip, akin to those of Pterodactylus antiquus. However, recent work on a specimen nicknamed "The Painten Pelican"[6] has revealed that the animal possesses a very unusual jaw anatomy, with peg-like teeth at the jaw tips - blunter and stouter in older individuals -, jaw curvatures behind said teeth that form angled arcs away from the biting surface, forming thus an opening, and two poorly understood soft tissue structures occupying this opening from the upper jaw, showing mineralization. The purpose of these adaptations is unknown,[10] but they are more obvious and well developed in adult animals. It has been speculated that the jaws functioned similar to those of openbill storks, allowing the animal to hold hard invertebrates like mollusks and either crush or bisect them.[11]
Classification
As illustrated below, the results of a topology are based on a phylogenetic analysis made by Longrich, Martill, and Andres in 2018. They placed the Cycnorhamphus within the clade Euctenochasmatia, more precisely within the family Gallodactylidae, sister taxon to Normannognathus.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Unwin, David M. (2006). The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time. New York: Pi Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-13-146308-X.
- ^ Quenstedt, F.A., 1855, Über Pterodactylus Suevicus im lithographischen Schiefer Württembergs, Tübingen, 52 pp
- ^ F. A. Quenstedt. 1856. Sonst und Jetzt. Populäre Vorträge über Geologie [Then and Now. Popular Lectures on Geology] viii-288
- ^ a b Bennett, S. Christopher (1996). "On the taxonomic status of Cycnorhamphus and Gallodactylus (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea)". Journal of Paleontology. 70 (2): 335–338. doi:10.1017/S0022336000023441.
- ^ Quenstedt, F.A. 1854. "Mittheilungen an Professor Bronn gerichtet". Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde, 1854: 570-571
- ^ a b c Bennett, S. C. (2013). "The morphology and taxonomy of the pterosaur Cycnorhamphus". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 267: 23–41. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2012/0295.
- ^ a b Wellnhofer, P. 1970. "Die Pterodactyloidea (Pterosauria) der Oberjura-Plattenkalke Süddeutschlands", Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-wissenschaftlichen Klasse, Abhandlungen, 141 : 1-133
- ^ Wagner, A., 1858, "Neue beitrage zur Kenntnis der urweltlichen Fauna des lithographischen Schiefers. 1. Abt. Saurier", Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-wissenschaftliche Klasse, 8: 417-528
- ^ H. G. Seeley. 1870. The Ornithosauria: an elementary study of the bones of pterodactyles, made from fossil remains found in the Cambridge Upper Greensand, and arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co, Cambridge
- ^ Frey and Tischlinger (2010)
- ^ Witton, Mark P. (2013), Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy
- ^ Longrich, N.R.; Martill, D.M.; Andres, B. (2018). "Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary". PLOS Biology. 16 (3): e2001663. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2001663. PMC 5849296. PMID 29534059.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
