| Batrachognathus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal restoration of the holotype by Jaime Headden | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Family: | †Anurognathidae |
| Genus: | †Batrachognathus Ryabinin, 1948 |
| Species: | †B. volans |
| Binomial name | |
| †Batrachognathus volans Ryabinin, 1948 | |
Batrachognathus is anextinctgenus ofanurognathidpterosaur from theLate Jurassic (Oxfordian toKimmeridgian)Karabastau Formation of the central Asian republic ofKazakhstan. The genus was named in 1948 by the RussianpaleontologistAnatoly Nicolaevich Ryabinin. Thetype species isBatrachognathus volans. The genus name is derived from Greekbatrakhos, "frog" andgnathos, "jaw", in reference to the short wide head. Thespecific epithet means "flying" inLatin.
Batrachognathus was a small pterosaur, with a wingspan of 50–75 cm (1 ft 8 in – 2 ft 6 in) and body mass of 40 g (1.4 oz).[1][2][3] Like all anurognathidsBatrachognathus is assumed to have been aninsectivore, catching insects and perhaps small fish on the wing with its broad mouth.[4]
Three fossils have been found in alacustrine sediment in the North-WestTien Shan foothills of theKaratau Mountains. In the Jurassic this area had some similarities in habitat to theSolnhofen lagoon deposits inBavaria, Germany. The genus is based onholotypePIN 52-2, an incomplete and disarticulated skeleton consisting of skull fragments, jaws, vertebrae, ribs, legs and wing bones. The skull of 48 mm (1.9 in) long is high, short and broad. The upper jaws have in total 22 or 24 recurved conical teeth; with the lower jaws they make a short and very wide mouth. The animal is not preserved with a tail. Whether it had one is debatable; usually it is assumed a short tail was present.[4]
Batrachognathus was assigned to theAnurognathidae, as a relative ofAnurognathus. In 2003Alexander Kellner named the clade Asiaticognathidae to include it and the Asian AnurognathidDendrorhynchoides. Christopher Bennett pointed out the name Asiaticognathidae was inappropriate, as the clade lacked anAsiaticognathus, and in 2009 Kellner proposed Batrachognathinae as a replacement.[5] According to an analysis in 2006 byLü Junchang,Batrachognathus andJeholopterus are sister taxa. In 2021, aphylogenetic analysis conducted by Xuefang Wei and colleagues recoveredBatrachognathus within the subfamily Batrachognathinae, sister taxon to the genusSinomacrops.[6] Below is a cladogram representing their phylogenetic analysis:
