Darwinopterus
Genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Darwinopterus (meaning "Darwin's wing") is a genus of pterosaur, discovered in China and named after biologist Charles Darwin.[1] Between 30 and 40 fossil specimens have been identified,[2] all collected from the Tiaojishan Formation, which dates to the middle Jurassic period, 160.89–160.25 Ma ago.[3][4] The type species, D. modularis, was described in February 2010.[1] D. modularis was the first known pterosaur to display features of both long-tailed (rhamphorhynchoid) and short-tailed (pterodactyloid) pterosaurs, and was described as a transitional fossil between the two groups.[5] Two additional species, D. linglongtaensis and D. robustodens, were described from the same fossil beds in December 2010 and June 2011, respectively.[6][7]
Darwinopterus | |
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D. modularis fossil | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Family: | †Wukongopteridae |
Subfamily: | †Wukongopterinae |
Genus: | †Darwinopterus Lü et al., 2010 |
Type species | |
†Darwinopterus modularis Lü et al., 2010 | |
Other species | |
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