Nemicolopterus
| Nemicolopterus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
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| Genus: | Nemicolopterus Wang et al., 2008
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Nemicolopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, described in 2008. The type and only known species is N. crypticus. It lived in the Jehol Biota 120 million years ago. Its wingspan of slightly under 25 centimeters (10 in) makes it smaller than any but a few specimens of hatchling pterosaurs.[1] The specimen is not fully grown, but Wang et al. (2008) cite the amount of bone fusion and the ossification of the toes, gastralia and sternum to indicate that it was a sub-adult rather than a hatchling.
Darren Naish argued on his popular weblog that, due to the fact pterosaurs are highly precocial, bone fusion and ossification could occur very early, and Nemicolopterus might in fact be a hatchling individual of the genus Sinopterus [1]
The generic name "Nemicolopterus" comes from the Greek words as follows. "Nemos" means "forest", "ikolos" means "dweller", and "pteros" means "wing". The specific name crypticus is from "kryptos", meaning "hidden". Thus "Nemicolopterus crypticus" means "Hidden flying forest dweller".
N. crypticus is known from one fossil, given the catalog number IVPP V-14377. It is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China. The fossil was collected from the Jiufotang Formation, which is of Aptian age (120 mya). It was discovered in the Luzhhouou locality of Yaolugou Town, Jianchang County, Huludao City, western Liaoning Province in northeastern China.
Nemicolopterus is a toothless pterosaur. Wang et al. (2008) concluded that it is a primitive intermediate between the toothed pterosaurs of the Ornithocheiroidea and the often toothless pterosaurs of the Dsungaripteroidea. Though Nemicolopterus is tiny, some of the members of these groups eventually evolved into the largest flying animals that ever lived, like Quetzalcoatlus.
Nemicolopterus also demonstrates clear adaptations of the toes and claws for grasping tree branches. Most pterosaurs are known from marine sediments, meaning that they probably caught fish in the ocean and landed on the adjacent beaches or cliffs. Nemicolopterus, on the other hand, is one of just a few known pterosaurs that lived in the continental interior, and probably hunted insects and roosted in the forest canopy. Its worth to note the comtemporaneous pterosaur linage Tapejaridae (such as Sinopterus, which Nemicolopteurs might actually be synonymous with), however, also shows strong adaptations to climbing [2]
See also
References
- ^ Wang, X., Kellner, A.W.A., Zhou, Z., and Campos, D.A. (2008). "Discovery of a rare arboreal forest-dwelling flying reptile (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from China." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(6): 1983–1987. doi:10.1073/pnas.0707728105
