A New Ctenochasmatid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province
Based on a nearly complete lower jaw from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, a new ctenochasmatid pterosaur: Liaoxipterus brachyognathus gen. et sp. nov. is erected. Liaoxipterus brachyognathus is different from any known pterosaurs with skulls preserved from western Liaoning Province and its peripheral areas in that the anterior part of the mandibular symphysis is expanded, being widest between the fourth alveolus of each side. Liaoxipterus brachyognathus is assigned to Ctenochasmatidae based on the following characters: the rounded anterior end of the lower jaw is spatulated and dorsoventrally flattened and marked heterodonty in the dentition is absent. It difters from other ctenochasmatid pterosaurs in having relatively small number of teeth. Liaoxipterus is distinguished from some omithocheirids, which have expanded anterior parts of the mandibular symphyses, such as Anhanguera piscator,Coloborhynchus robustus in which the teeth of the new pterosaur are not as variable.
作 者： Dong Zhiming U Junchang 作者单位： Dong Zhiming(Research Center of Paleontology and Stratigraphy, Jilin University, Changchun 130026;Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing 100044)U Junchang(Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037)
刊 名： 地质学报（英文版） SCI 英文刊名： ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA 年，卷(期)： 2005 79(2) 分类号： 关键词： Liaoxipterus Ctenochasmatidae Jiufotang Formation Early Cretaceous Liaoning Province