More pterosaur stuff (Kunpengopterus)

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler
bh480@scn.org

In case this has not been mentioned yet by anybody who 
downloaded the free pdf of the new Pteranodon article, 
there is another article (free pdf) in the same issue 
with new pterosaur taxa. The paper distinguishes 
Wukongopterus from Darwinopterus and adds a new genus 
(Kunpengopterus) and a new species of Darwinopterus:


XIAOLIN WANG, ALEXANDER W.A. KELLNER, SHUNXING JIANG,
XIN CHENG, XI MENG and TAISSA RODRIGUES. 2010.
New long-tailed pterosaurs (Wukongopteridae) from western 
Liaoning, China. 
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 82(4): 1045-
1062. 
ISSN 0001-3765.  doi: 10.1590/S0001-37652010000400024.
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?
script=sci_abstract&pid=S0001-
37652010000400024&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Two almost complete long-tailed pterosaurs from the 
Linglongta, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, China, 
are described and represent new taxa referred to the non-
pterodactyloid clade Wukongopteridae. Kunpengopterus 
sinensis gen. et sp. nov. differs from other members of 
this clade mainly by the rounded posterior region of the 
skull, thick lacrimal process of the jugal and lack of a 
bony premaxillary crest. This species further shows a 
soft tissue crest above the frontal, a comparatively 
larger wing finger, and the proximal segment of the 
second pedal phalanx of the fifth toe shorter than in 
other wukongopterids. The second new species is referred 
to the genus Darwinopterus, D. linglongtaensis sp. nov. 
based on the posterior region of the skull. It further 
differs from other wukongopterid pterosaurs by the thin 
lacrimal process of the jugal, foramen on nasal process 
rounded, and by having the second pedal phalanx of the 
fifth toe less curved (115°). Several differences among 
the Wukongopteridae can be found in the dentition and the 
feet, suggesting that they might have occupied slightly 
different ecological niches. The long-tailed 
Changchengopterus pani is tentatively referred to this 
clade and new diagnosis for the wukongopterids 
Wukongopterus lii and Darwinopterus modularis is provided.


======
Also, there is a news story with artwork for a 3-D TV 
show about pterosaurs starring Sir David-Attenborough:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1339263/Sir-
David-Attenborough-flies-air-dinosaurs-new-TV-show.html?
ito=feeds-newsxml


And as mentioned in my earlier post, the new 
Palaeodiversity has an article (free pdf) about 
pterosaurs as archosaurs based on a fenestra in the 
mandible.
http://www.palaeodiversity.org/currentissue.htm