Hongshanopterus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of istiodactylid

Istiodactylidae

Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus....

 ornithocheiroid

Ornithocheiroidea

Ornithocheiroidea is an extinct group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea.-Locomotion:Ornithocheiroids, like other pterosaurs, are considered to have been skilled fliers as well as adept at moving on the ground...

 pterodactyloid pterosaur

Pterosaur

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...

 from the Lower Cretaceous  Jiufotang Formation

Jiufotang Formation

The Jiufotang Formation is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms. . It is a member of the Jehol group. The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with...

 of Liaoning

Liaoning

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...

, China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It is based on

Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

 IVPP V14582

Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China is a prominent research institution and collections repository for fossils, including many dinosaur and pterosaurand cat poo specimens...

, a skull and neck vertebrae of a single individual. The teeth had triangular crowns and were flattened from mouth side to "lip" side, like those of other istiodactylids. Hongshanopterus was less derived

Derived

In phylogenetics, a derived trait is a trait that is present in an organism, but was absent in the last common ancestor of the group being considered. This may also refer to structures that are not present in an organism, but were present in its ancestors, i.e. traits that have undergone secondary...

 than other istiodactylids, however, by having a tooth row that extended beyond the first third of the skull, and by having some teeth that were directed backwards. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

is H. lacustris.