Noripterus
Encyclopedia
Noripterus is a genus
of dsungaripterid
pterodactyloid
pterosaur
from Lower Cretaceous-age Lianmuqin Formation in the Junggar Basin
of Xinjiang
, China
. It was first named by Yang Zhongjian
(also known as C.C. Young in older sources) in 1973. Additional fossil
remains have been recovered from Tsagaantsav Svita
, Mongolia
.
specimen of Noripterus (IVPP
V.4062, type locality IVPP 64045) preserved the front part of the skull and lower jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs and pelvis
. Noripterus was quite similar to the contemporaneous Dsungaripterus
, though it was estimated to be a third shorter. It has long narrow neck vertebrae and, like Dsungaripterus, a crest and no teeth in the front of the lower jaw. The teeth that are present are well-developed and spaced fairly far apart. The sharp snout is straight and not pointed upwards as with Dsungaripterus.
The genus Phobetor, named after the Greek god of nightmares
, was in 1982 originally described by Natasha Bakhurina as a species of Dsungaripterus
(D. parvus), based on a single lower leg bone, PIN 3953. The discovery of more remains later, among which an almost complete skull, GIN 100/31, was reason for Bakhurina to name D. parvus in 1986 as a separate genus, and the species name became Phobetor parvus. However, the genus name Phobetor was already being used as a junior synonym of a species of sculpin
, namely, the arctic staghorn sculpin, Gymnocanthus tricuspis (synonym "Phobetor tricuspis" Krøyer, 1844) and thus unavailable. In 2009, Lü and colleagues re-examined much of the known dsungaripterid fossil material, and found that "Phobetor" was indistinguishable from Noripterus, causing them to refer to it as a junior synonym.
Assigning the "Phobetor" material to Noripterus increases the known size of the latter as it indicates a maximum wingspan of four metres.
, with long narrow toothless beak
tips for probing for and picking up suitable prey, and robust teeth farther back for cracking shells. The skulls of these animals are more robust than those of other pterosaurs, as well as their limbs and vertebrae.
Noripterus lived in the same time and place as the larger Dsungaripterus, in formations that indicate the presence of extensive inland lake systems. Because Noripterus had a more lightly built skull with weaker, more slender teeth than its larger contemporary, it is likely that the two pterosaurs occupied separate ecological niches, with Dsungaripterus hunting in the shallow parts of lakes and eating hard-shelled animals, while Noripterus fed on fish from deeper regions of the lakes.
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 dsungaripterid
Dsungaripteridae
Dsungaripteridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea....
pterodactyloid
Pterodactyloidea
Pterodactyloidea forms one of the two suborders of pterosaurs , and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles...
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 Lower Cretaceous-age Lianmuqin Formation in the Junggar Basin
Dzungaria
Dzungaria, also called Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately , lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan...
of Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, 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 was first named by Yang Zhongjian
Yang Zhongjian
Yang Zhongjian , courtesy name Keqiang , also known as C.C. Young, was one of China's foremost paleontologists. He has been called the 'Father of Chinese vertebrate paleontology'...
(also known as C.C. Young in older sources) in 1973. Additional fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
remains have been recovered from Tsagaantsav Svita
Tsagaantsav Svita
The Tsagaantsav Svita is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation. Indeterminate sauropod and psittacosaurid remains have been recovered from the formation...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
Description
The first, holotypeHolotype
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...
specimen of Noripterus (IVPP
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...
V.4062, type locality IVPP 64045) preserved the front part of the skull and lower jaws, vertebrae, and partial limbs and pelvis
Pelvis
In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...
. Noripterus was quite similar to the contemporaneous Dsungaripterus
Dsungaripterus
Dsungaripterus was a genus of pterosaur, with an average wingspan of . It lived during the Early Cretaceous, in China, where the first fossil was found in the Junggar Basin.-Discovery and species:...
, though it was estimated to be a third shorter. It has long narrow neck vertebrae and, like Dsungaripterus, a crest and no teeth in the front of the lower jaw. The teeth that are present are well-developed and spaced fairly far apart. The sharp snout is straight and not pointed upwards as with Dsungaripterus.
Classification
Because of its similarity to Dsungaripterus, Noripterus has been assigned to the family Dsungaripteridae.The genus Phobetor, named after the Greek god of nightmares
Phobetor
In Greek mythology, Phobetor was one of the Oneiroi, the personifications of dreaming. According to Hesiod, Phobetor is the son of Nyx, the primordial goddess of the Night, produced parthenogenetically, or as Cicero claims, with Erebus, the embodiment of Darkness...
, was in 1982 originally described by Natasha Bakhurina as a species of Dsungaripterus
Dsungaripterus
Dsungaripterus was a genus of pterosaur, with an average wingspan of . It lived during the Early Cretaceous, in China, where the first fossil was found in the Junggar Basin.-Discovery and species:...
(D. parvus), based on a single lower leg bone, PIN 3953. The discovery of more remains later, among which an almost complete skull, GIN 100/31, was reason for Bakhurina to name D. parvus in 1986 as a separate genus, and the species name became Phobetor parvus. However, the genus name Phobetor was already being used as a junior synonym of a species of sculpin
Sculpin
A Sculpin is a fish that belongs to the order Scorpaeniformes, suborder Cottoidei and superfamily Cottoidea, that contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species...
, namely, the arctic staghorn sculpin, Gymnocanthus tricuspis (synonym "Phobetor tricuspis" Krøyer, 1844) and thus unavailable. In 2009, Lü and colleagues re-examined much of the known dsungaripterid fossil material, and found that "Phobetor" was indistinguishable from Noripterus, causing them to refer to it as a junior synonym.
Assigning the "Phobetor" material to Noripterus increases the known size of the latter as it indicates a maximum wingspan of four metres.
Paleobiology and ecology
Dsungaripterids like Noripterus are interpreted as adapted for feeding on fish and shellfishShellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
, with long narrow toothless beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
tips for probing for and picking up suitable prey, and robust teeth farther back for cracking shells. The skulls of these animals are more robust than those of other pterosaurs, as well as their limbs and vertebrae.
Noripterus lived in the same time and place as the larger Dsungaripterus, in formations that indicate the presence of extensive inland lake systems. Because Noripterus had a more lightly built skull with weaker, more slender teeth than its larger contemporary, it is likely that the two pterosaurs occupied separate ecological niches, with Dsungaripterus hunting in the shallow parts of lakes and eating hard-shelled animals, while Noripterus fed on fish from deeper regions of the lakes.