Wukongopterus 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 basal

Basal (phylogenetics)

In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

 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...

, found in 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

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, from the Daohugou Beds

Daohugou Beds

The Daohugou Beds are a series of fossil-bearing rock deposits located in northeastern China, with the type locality around Daohugou village of Ningcheng County south of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, but extending into southwest Liaoning. The rocks are grey, finely bedded, lacustrine, sandy mudstones...

, of the Late Jurassic

Late Jurassic

The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...

 or Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

. It was unusual for having both an elongate neck and a long tail.

The genus was described and named in 2009 by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Kellner

Alexander Kellner

Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner is a Liechtensteinian/Brazilian paleontologist, a leading expert in the field of the study of pterosaurs....

, Jiang Shunxing and Meng Xi. The genus name is derived from Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...

, the Monkey King, the main hero of the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West

Journey to the West

Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...

, and a Latinised Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name honours Li Yutong, senior preparator of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

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...

 (IVPP).

The genus is based on holotype

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 V15113, a nearly complete but compressed skeleton lacking the back and middle of the skull. The type individual appears to have broken its shin

Tibia

The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....

 during life. Its wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is estimated at 730 millimetres (28.7 in). Wukongopterus also may have had an uropatagium, a membrane between the hind legs.

See also

• Darwinopterus
  Darwinopterus
  Darwinopterus is a genus of pterosaur, discovered in China and named after biologist Charles Darwin. Between 30 and 40 fossil specimens have been identified, all collected from the Tiaojishan Formation, which dates to the middle Jurassic period. The type species, D. modularis, was described in...
  
  
• List of pterosaurs
• Daohugou Beds
  Daohugou Beds
  The Daohugou Beds are a series of fossil-bearing rock deposits located in northeastern China, with the type locality around Daohugou village of Ningcheng County south of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, but extending into southwest Liaoning. The rocks are grey, finely bedded, lacustrine, sandy mudstones...
  
  
• 2009 in paleontology
  2009 in paleontology
  -Anomalocaridids:-Arachnids:-Insects:-Cephalopods:Three new species of extinct Octopoda discovered in 2009. The species - Keuppia hyperbolaris, Keuppia levante, and Styletoctopus annae - lived about 95 million years ago, and bear a strong resemblance to modern octopuses, suggesting that the...