Kunpengopterus

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Kunpengopterus
Kunpengopterus sinensis (IVPP V 23674); from Cheng et al., 2017 [1]

Kunpengopterus sinensis (IVPP V 23674); from Cheng et al., 2017

Temporal occurrence
Callovian to Kimmeridgian
166.1 to 152.1 million years
Locations
Systematics
Archosauria
Ornithodira
Flugsaurier (Pterosauria)
Monofenestrata
Wukongopteridae
Kunpengopterus
Scientific name
Kunpengopterus
Wang et al. , 2010
Art
  • Kunpengopterus sinensis

Kunpengopterus is a genus of long-tailed pterodactyls from the group of Wukongopteridae . The only known species of the so far monotypical genus is Kunpengopterus sinensis from the Daohugou layers in the northeast of the People's Republic of China .

Etymology and history of research

The generic name is made up of the Pinyin designation "Kun-Peng" for a being from Chinese mythology who can transform from a large fish or whale ("Kun") into a bird (" Peng ") and that of representatives the pterosaurs often used, ending " - (o) pterus ", Latinized from the ancient Greek πτερόν ( pterón ) "wing". The additional species " sinensis " refers to the localities in China. The name of the species can roughly be translated as "Chinese (fish-bird) -wing".

The first description of the genus and type species was carried out in 2010 by Xiaolin Wang and a group of co-authors of based on holotype IVPP V 16047 from Daohugou Beds of Liaoning . At the same time as the first description, the authors assigned the taxon to the Wukongopteridae family that had been newly established a year earlier .

In the following year, Lü et al. the remains of a pterosaur (ZMNH M 8802) from analogous find layers of the Liaoning province initially described as a representative of the genus Darwinopterus . This fossil was of particular importance in that it was possible to detect the imprint of an egg between the pterosaur's legs, somewhat away from the pelvis. So it was obviously a pregnant female. The lack of a bone crest on the skull, which is typical for members of the Darwinopterus genus , was explained by the authors as an expression of sexual dimorphism . The counterplate (IVPP V 18403) for ZMNH M 8802 only came into the hands of scientists later and, in addition to other skeletal elements, also contained the remains of a second egg that was apparently still in the mother's body at the time of the fossil record. The discovery of the counterplate prompted Wang et al. In 2015 to revise the original diagnosis of Lü and assign the fossil to the genus Kunpengopterus , but without assigning a species ( Kunpengopterus sp. ).

In 2017, Cheng et al. a second fossil (IVPP V 23674) from the province of Liaoning described, which could be clearly assigned to the taxon Kunpengopterus sinensis . The authors also pointed out that the egg-bearing double fossil (IVPP V 18403 / ZMNH M 8802) differs significantly from Kunpengopterus sinensis in the shape of the 5th toe and should be assigned to an independent taxon at least at the species level.

Fossil evidence and age

(IVPP = Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology , ZMNH = Zhejiang Museum of Natural History )

  • IVPP V 16047: holotype; Almost completely preserved, partially articulated skeleton with completely preserved skull and lower jaw.
  • IVPP V 23674: Largely complete skeleton including skull and lower jaw.
  • ZMNH M 8802 / IVPP V 18403: Plate and counter plate with the fossil remains of a female specimen which may be assigned to the genus Kunpengopterus . The fossil also contains the remains of 2 eggs.

All known remains of Kunpengopterus have been described from the Daohugou strata or the higher-level Tiaojishan Formation in Lianoning Province. Radiometric dating of the Tiaojishan Formation indicates a sedimentation age of 153–165  Ma .

Characteristics of the genus

Detailed view and interpretation sketch of the skull of Kunpengopterus sinensis . From Cheng et al., 2017

Unless otherwise stated, the description of the characteristics follows the analysis by Cheng et al., 2017. Abbreviations in brackets refer to the corresponding figures on the right and above.

Kunpengopterus was with an estimated wingspan of 79 cm a rather diminutive representatives (IVPP V 23674) of Pterosauria. As with all representatives of the Wukongopteridae, there are features of both the basal Pterosauria and the Pterodactyloidea . Kunpengopterus and the Wukongopteridae in general are therefore considered to be "mosaic taxa" in which the characteristics of different groups are combined as transitional forms. The basic characteristics are:

  • A long caudal spine ("cdv") that is stiffened by the zygapophyses and hemapophyses of the individual caudal vertebrae, which are elongated like a clasp - representatives of the pterodactyloidea usually have a short tail that is not stiffened by elongated vertebral processes
  • A fifth toe with two long toe members (phalanges) - in representatives of the Pterodactyloidea, the fifth toe is stunted and shows only one phalange

Other characteristics put Kunpengopterus and the other representatives of the Wukongopteridae in a close relationship to the Pterodactyloidea:

  • The external nasal opening (Naris externa) and the antorbital window (Fenestra antorbitalis) have already merged into a common cranial window (nasoantorbital window; "naof"). The boundary between the nasal opening and the antorbital window is still marked by an extension ("prn") of the nasal bone ("n"), but this extension is no longer in contact with the maxilla and only incompletely separates the two partial windows from each other.
  • The cervical vertebrae ("cv") are elongated. Neck ribs are still there, but severely stunted.

The metacarpal bone ("mcIV") of the wing-bearing fourth finger assumes a kind of intermediate position in Kunpengopterus . In relation to the first phalanx of the fourth finger ("ph1d4") and to the two forearm bones ("ul" and "ra") it is significantly longer than that of the basal pterosauria, but shorter than that of the pterodactyloidea.

In addition to these general characteristics, Kunpengopterus differs from the other representatives of the Wukongopteridae by the following autapomorphies :

  • The occipital region is rounded.
  • The nasoantorbital window (“naof”) extends over about 40% of the entire length of the skull.
  • The maxillary process of the zygomatic bone ("j") is thin and relatively short.
  • A forward-facing process on the pubic bone (prepubis; "ppu") is very short and wide.
  • The first phalange of the fifth toe is relatively short and is only about 70% the length of the adjacent fourth metatarsal .
  • The second phalange of the fifth toe ("pph2d5") is boomerang-shaped and the two segments form an angle of about 145 °, with the proximal segment of the phalange measuring only about 30% of the length of the distal segment.

Unlike some other representatives of Wukongopteridae shows Kunpengopterus no signs of a sagittal bone crest in the premaxilla ( "pm"). The holotype (IVPP V 16047) shows in the area of ​​the frontal bone ("f"), however, remnants of soft tissue that could belong to a non-ossified cranial crest of unknown shape and size.

The distal , claw-reinforced phalanges of the first to third fingers have an additional tiny bone dorsally at the base. These sesame bones are interpreted in connection with the extensor digitorum brevis muscle .

Systematics

 Pterosauria  

 various groups of long-tailed pterosaurs


 Monofenestrata  

 Wukongopterus lii


   


 Darwinopterus modularis


   

 Darwinopterus robustodens


   

 Darwinopterus linglongtaensis


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 Kunpengopterus sinensis


   

 Douzhanopterus zhengi


   

 "Paintner Pro-Pterodactyloid"


 Pterodactyloidea  

 Short-tailed pterosaur








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Systematic position of Kunpengopterus sinensis within the monofenestrata; greatly simplified after Wang et al., 2017;

The Wukongopteridae were discovered in 2010 by Wang et al. defined as the youngest common ancestor of Wukongopterus lii and Kunpengopterus sinensis and all of its descendants. The genera Wukongopterus , Darwinopterus , Kunpengopterus and Changchengopterus were listed as members of this group. Shortly before, Lü et al. Darwinopterus identified as the sister taxon of the Pterodactyloidea and, according to the common feature of a united nasoantorbital window, combined in the clade of the monofenestrata. In an extended phylogenetic analysis from 2017, however, it was not possible to provide evidence that the Wukongopteridae form a monophyletic group , while both the Pterodactyloidea and the Monofenestrata apparently each form monophyletic groups. The representatives of the Wukongopteridae are therefore simply referred to in this work as "basal monofenestrata" and are not assigned to an independent group. The cladogram opposite shows the result of this analysis in a greatly simplified form. The family relationships of the basal monofenestrata and thus also the systematic position of Kunpengopterus have by no means been conclusively clarified.

Paleecology

The sesame bones on the distal limbs of the first to third fingers indicate a tree-dwelling way of life. Little is known about the diet of Kunpengopterus . On the stone plate of the holotype IVPP V 16047 there is a misshapen mass of scales and skeletal elements of fish; however, a direct connection with the remains of the pterosaur cannot be proven. It is assumed that Kunpengopterus could have fed on insects or possibly also on small fish.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h X. Cheng, S. Jiang, X. Wang & AWA Kellner: New anatomical information of the wukongopterid Kunpengopterus sinensis Wang et al., 2010 based on a new specimen. In: PeerJ. , 5: e4102, 2017, doi : 10.7717 / peerj.4102
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j X. Wang, AWA Kellner, S. Jiang, X. Cheng, X. Meng & T. Rodrigues: New long-tailed pterosaurs (Wukongopteridae) from western Liaoning, China. In: Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. Volume 82, number 4, 2010, pp. 1045-1062 doi : 10.1590 / S0001-37652010000400024
  3. ^ X. Wang, AWA Kellner, S. Jiang, & X. Meng: An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China. In: Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. Volume 81, Number 4, 2009, pp. 793–812 ( digital version )
  4. ↑ a b c d J. Lü, DM Unwin, D. Ch. Deeming, X. Jin, Y. Liu & Q. Ji: An Egg-Adult Association, Gender, and Reproduction in Pterosaurs. In: Science. Volume 331, 2011, pp. 321-324 ( digitized version )
  5. ↑ a b c X. Wang, AWA Kellner, X. Cheng, S. Jiang, Q. Wang, JM Sayão, T. Rodrigues, FR Costa, N. Li, X. Meng & Z. Zhou: Eggshell and Histology Provide Insight on the Life History of a Pterosaur with Two Functional Ovaries. In: Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. , Volume 87, Number 3, 2015, pp. 1599–1609 doi : 10.1590 / 0001-3765201520150364
  6. ^ H. Zhang, MX Wang & XM Liu: Constraints on the upper boundary age of the Tiaojishan Formation volcanic rocks in West Liaoning-North Hebei by LA-ICP-MS dating. In: Chinese Science Bulletin. Volume 53, Number 22, 2008, pp. 3574-3584 doi : 10.1007 / s11434-008-0287-4
  7. ↑ a b H. Tischlinger & E. Frey: A new pterosaur with mosaic features of basal and pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Upper Kimmeridgian of Painten (Upper Palatinate, Germany). In: Archeopteryx. Volume 31, 2013, pp. 1–13 ( digitized version )
  8. ↑ a b X. Wang, Sh. Jiang, J. Zhang, X. Cheng, X. Yu, Y. Li, G. Wei & X. Wang: New evidence from China for the nature of the pterosaur evolutionary transition. In: nature: Scientific Reports. Volume 7, Article Number 42763, 2017, 9 pp. Doi : 10.1038 / srep42763
  9. ^ J. Lü, DM Unwin, X. Jin, Y. Liu & Q. Ji: Evidence for modular evolution in a long-tailed pterosaur with a pterodactyloid skull. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Volume 277, number 1680, 2010, pp. 383-389 doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2009.1603

Web links

Commons : Kunpengopterus  - collection of images, videos and audio files