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Darwinopterus
genus of pterosaurs / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darwinopterus (meaning "Darwin's wing") is a genus of pterosaur, discovered in China and named after Charles Darwin. It is the first known pterosaur to display features of both long-tailed (rhamphorhynchoid) and short-tailed (pterodactyloid) pterosaurs. Darwinopterus is a transitional fossil between the two groups.[1]
Darwinopterus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 160 million years ago | |
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D. modularis fossil | |
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Type species | |
Darwinopterus modularis Lü et al., 2010 | |
Species | |
D. modularis Lü et al., 2010 |
Between 30 and 40 fossil specimens have been found,[2] all collected from the Tiaojishan Formation, which dates to the Middle Jurassic, 160 million years ago (mya). The type species, D. modularis, was described in February 2010.[3]
Two additional species, D. linglongtaensis and D. robustodens, were described from the same fossil beds in December 2010 and June 2011, respectively.[4][5]
The specimens showed sexual dimorphism: the males had crests on their heads, and narrower hips than the females.