Genus
Valid Extinct

Liaodactylus

Zhou et al. 2017

Liaodactylus is a genus of filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Jurassic of China. The genus contains one species, L. primus, described by Zhou et al. in 2017. As an adaptation to filter-feeding, Liaodactylus had approximately 150 long, comb-like teeth packed closely together. It is both the earliest known ctenochasmatid and the first filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic Yanliao Biota. Later and more specialized ctenochasmatids differ from Liaodactylus in having longer snouts, smaller openings in the skull, and more teeth. Within the Ctenochasmatidae, Liaodactylus was most closely related to the European Ctenochasma.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Liaodactylus
click to enlarge
Figure 2. Holotype of Liaodactylus primus gen. et sp. nov. (PMOL-AP00031): photographs and line drawings of the nearly complete skull with mandibles in left lateral (a,b), and palatal (c,d) views. aa, atlas-axis complex; an, angular; arf, articular facet; bo, basioccipital; bs, basisphenoid; co, coronoid; d, dentary; ec, ectopterygoid; f, frontal; j, jugal; m, maxilla; naof, nasoantorbital fenestra; p, parietal; pal, palatine; pat, proatlas; pecf, pterygo-ectopterygoid fenestra; pm, premaxilla; pof, postfrontal; pra, prearticular; pt, pterygoid; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; sa, surangular; sof, suborbital fenestra; spl, splenial; sq, squamosal; stf, subtemporal fenestra. © Chang-Fu Zhou, Ke-Qin Gao, Hongyu Yi, Jinzhuang Xue, Quanguo Li, Richard C. Fox · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Liaodactylus
Liaodactylus
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
›
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
›
Lophocratia Unranked clade
›
Ctenochasmatoidea Superfamily
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Euctenochasmatia Unranked clade
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Ctenochasmatidae Family
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Liaodactylus Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
1
Geological formations
Tiaojishan
1
Temporal distribution
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Liaodactylus primus 162 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
C.-F. Zhou, K.-Q. Gao, and H.-Y. Yi, J.-Z. Xue, Q.-G. Li, R. C. Fox. 2017. Earliest filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and ecological evolution of Pterodactyloidea. Royal Society Open Science 4(160672) DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
C.-F. Zhou, K.-Q. Gao, and H.-Y. Yi, J.-Z. Xue, Q.-G. Li, R. C. Fox. 2017. Earliest filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and ecological evolution of Pterodactyloidea. Royal Society Open Science 4(160672) DOI ↗