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primitive Nyctosaurus wing?
Was wondering what ever became of the missing phalanx on the Nyctosaurus
wing? Unlike all other pterosaurs, three wing phalanges are reported,
not four (or five if one counts the tiny ungual).
A closer look* at the Kansas nyctosaur, the one with the "pseudo" crest,
revealed an interphalangeal joint in the midst of a long phalanx
crossing the middle of the specimen. Seems m4.2 is actually 4.2+4.3
fused.
In the Nebraska Nyctosaurus, which is crestless on the rostrum, there is
absolutely no trace of the interphalangeal joint on the second phalanx,
but m4.3 (or phylogenetically m4.4) is curved, just as m4.4 is in
Pteranodon and other sister taxa.
Interesting. A cc is going to Chris Bennett who is working on this
clade. Perhaps he can tell is if this is an example of a primitive
Nyctosaurus?
David Peters
St. Louis
* (using the computer as a microscope)