Sinopterus gui
Class Sauropsida, Order Pterosauria, Suborder Pterodactyloidea, Family Tapejaridae
Geological Time: Lower Cretaceous (~110 m.y.a.)
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): 350 mm long (top of skull to tip of toes) 725 mm wingspan (if outstretched) with a 115 mm skull
Fossil Site: Jiufotang Formation, Dapingfang, Chaoyang, Liaoning Province of China
Wang
Xiaolin & Zhou Zhonghe:
A new pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous
Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China and its implications
for biostratigraphy |
before
tapering off at the back of the skull. This one differs from the
conspecific Sinopterus dongi by having a less steep forward edge
of the skull. Both are known from nearly complete specimens such
as you see here. The preservation is excellent for a creature in
which the bones were hollow and paper thin to minimize weight. This
specimen is quite detailed, with most bones present in articulation
as found in life. All the material here is original to this specimen.
As is commonly the case, there are repaired matrix cracks as a result
of field collection. This is a fine representative of the taxon
whose largest known specimen has a 1.2 meter wingspan.
