| Zhejiangopterus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skull | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Azhdarchoidea |
| Family: | †Azhdarchidae |
| Subfamily: | †Quetzalcoatlinae |
| Genus: | †Zhejiangopterus Cai & Wei, 1994 |
| Type species | |
| †Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis Cai & Wei, 1994 | |
Zhejiangopterus is agenus ofazhdarchidpterosaur known from one species, which lived in China during the lateCretaceous Period.[1] The genus was named in 1994 by Chinesepaleontologists Cai Zhengquan and Wei Feng. Thetype species isZhejiangopterus linhaiensis. The genus name refers toZhejiang Province and a Latinized Greekpteron, "wing". Thespecific name refers to the city ofLinhai.
In April 1986 a young chalkstone quarry worker named Xu Chengfa, found a large fossil near the village of Aolicun in Linhai. Xu by letter informed theZhejiang Museum of Natural History atHangzhou, and Zhang Minghua of the museum understood the remains were those of an unknown pterosaur from it. Therefore, a team consisting of the describers and Wu Weitang were sent to investigate. They secured the fossil, instructing the local population to be alert for possible further finds. Xu himself managed to find three more specimens before being killed in an accident in 1988; another worker found a complete skull.
In the early 1990s, in total, six larger fossils had been recovered from theTangshang Formation, an 81.5 million year old layer from theCampanian. Among those was theholotype, ZMNH M1330, the impression of the skull of a juvenile individual. Severalparatypes were referred: ZMNH M1325, a skeleton lacking the skull; ZMNH M1328, an almost complete skeleton and ZMNH M1329, a fragmentary skeleton.
Zhejiangopterus was a moderately large pterosaur. Itswingspan was first estimated at 5 meters (16.4 feet). Later estimates reduced this to about 3.5 meters (11.5 ft),[2] while its body mass is estimated by pterosaur expert Mark Witton to be around 7.9 kilograms (roughly 17 pounds) based on a volumetric method.[3] Its skull was long, low, perfectly arched, and lacked a "keel" or any other crest sometimes seen in related species. The nasal opening and the large opening typically present between the nose and eye openings ofarchosaurs (the "antorbital fenestra") had joined together in species such as this to create a single oval opening that occupied nearly one half the length of the skull. The beak was long, thin, sharply pointed, and lacked teeth. The cervical vertebrae were elongated. The first six dorsal vertebrae had fused into anotarium. Several pairs of belly ribs were preserved. Its femur was thin and long, 1.5 times longer than robust humerus.[4]
Zhejiangopterus was classified as a member of theNyctosauridae by the original describers because of the two edentulous pterosaurs they possessed good descriptions of,Pteranodon andNyctosaurus,Zhejiangopterus more resembled the latter. At the time of the description, there was a lack of data onQuetzalcoatlus. In 1997David Unwin determined thatZhejiangopterus was more closely related to this giant American form and thus belonged toAzhdarchidae. No other azhdarchid is known from such complete skeletal material.
Below is acladogram showing the phylogenetic placement ofZhejiangopterus within the cladeNeoazhdarchia. The cladogram is based on a topology recovered by Brian Andres and Timothy Myers in 2013.[5]
