2006/07/01 by David M. Martill, Darren Naish · 10 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Anatomy #Biology #Cladistics #Fish biology, ecology, and behavior #Genus #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Monophyly #Paleontology #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Paraphyly #Phylogenetics #Sister group #Systematics #Taxonomy (biology) #Zoology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00575.x
openalex publication_date 2006/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract: A portion of pterosaur skull from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation (?Albian–?Turonian, Cretaceous) of north‐east Brazil provides new data on the morphology and ontogeny of azhdarchoid pterosaur cranial crests. The specimen consists of parts of the cranial bones posterodorsal to the nasoantorbital fenestra, including partial nasals, lacrimals, frontals and possibly the parietals. A posterodorsally directed premaxillary crest with a concave posterior border is located dorsal to the posterior border of the nasoantorbital fenestra. A well‐defined suture indicates overlapping, posterodorsally directed growth of the premaxilla over the skull roof, suggesting that the generation of the premaxillary crest is a late ontogenetic feature and thus probably related to sexual display. The systematics of Tupuxuara and its relationship to other azhdarchoids is reviewed and a cladistic analysis of the group is presented. Tupuxuara is found to be the sister‐taxon to Azhdarchidae. Tupuxuara longicristatus Kellner and Campos, 1988 is argued to be the only valid named species in this genus and Thalassodromeus Kellner and Campos, 2002 is considered a junior subjective synonym of this taxon. As originally conceived, Tapejaridae is paraphyletic: a new, more restrictive version of Tapejaridae (including Tapejara and Sinopterus dongi ) might exist, but its monophyly is weakly supported. Furthermore, Tapejara was found to be paraphyletic in all trees.