New Material of the Pterosaur Gladocephaloideus Lü et al., 2012 from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China, with Comments on Its Systematic Position
Although there are nine genera of ctenochasmatoids reported from the Jehol Biota, at present each is known from a specimen that has either a skull or a relatively complete postcranial skeleton. A nearly complete juvenile specimen of Gladocephaloideus from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Sihedang, Lingyuan of Liaoning Province is the most complete ctenochasmatoid preserved to date with a skull and postcranial skeleton. Based on the holotype (IG-CAGS 08–07) and the nearly complete new specimen (JPM 2014–004), the diagnosis of Gladocephaloideus is amended: approximately 50 teeth in total with sharp tips; small nasoantorbital opening, occupying approximately 13% of total skull length; ratio of prenarial rostrum length to skull length approximately 0.63; deep groove along the mid-line of the mandibular symphysis; length to width ratio of the longest cervical vertebra = 4.1; ratio of femur length to tibia length = 0.61; tibia as long as the wing-phalange 1. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Gladocephaloideus within the clade Ctenochasmatidae. Gladocephaloideus has a closer relationship to the Chinese Pterofiltrus rather than to other ctenochasmatid pterosaurs. Microstructure of limb bones implies that JPM 2014–004 represents an early juvenile of Gladocephaloideus jingangshanensis, and that the type specimen is not a fully grown specimen either. We assume that the holotype may equate to the late juvenile or sub-adult developmental stage of Gladocephaloideus.
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China;Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing, China;Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic;Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of P. J. Safarik, Košice, Slovak Republic;Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
Recommended Citation:
Junchang Lü,Martin Kundrát,Caizhi Shen. New Material of the Pterosaur Gladocephaloideus Lü et al., 2012 from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China, with Comments on Its Systematic Position[J]. PLOS ONE,2016-01-01,11(6)