Thalassodromidae is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 period of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. It contains two genera, Thalassodromeus

Thalassodromeus

Thalassodromeus was a large pterodactyloid pterosaur found in northeastern Brazil.The genus was named in 2002 by Alexander Kellner and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The type species is Thalassodromeus sethi. The genus name is derived from Greek thalasse, "sea" and dromaios, "runner", in reference to...

and Tupuxuara

Tupuxuara

Tupuxuara is a genus of large, crested, toothless pterodactyloid pterosaur.The genus was in 1988 named and described by Alexander Kellner and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The type species is Tupuxuara longicristatus. The genus name refers to a familiar spirit from the mythology of the Tupi...

.

Classification

The classification of thalassodromids is controversial. Some studies, including one by Lü and colleagues in 2008, have found that the thalassodromids are more closely related to the azhdarchids

Azhdarchidae

Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebrae apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well...

 than to the tapejarids

Tapejaridae

Tapejaridae are a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous period. Members are currently known from Brazil and China, where the most primitive genera are found, indicating that the family has an Asian origin....

, and have placed them in their own family (which has sometimes been referred to as Tupuxuaridae, though Thalassodrominae was named first). Alternately, they have been considered a subfamily (Thalassodrominae) within the Tapejaridae.

Below are two alternate cladograms resulting from studies of azhdarchoid relationships. The first, presented by Felipe Pinheiro and colleagues in 2011, found the thalassodromids as subgroup within the Tapejaridae. The second, presented by Lu and colleagues in 2008, found them to be closer to the Azhdarchidae.