Changchengopterus
Changchengopterus was a small flying reptile that lived in China during the Jurassic Period. It had long, thin wings and probably ate fish by snapping them up from the water.31
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Fun facts
Changchengopterus is known from two fossils: a young juvenile and an adult. The juvenile's wing bones measured only 17 centimetres (about 6.7 inches) in total.1
Its name comes from the Great Wall of China (Changcheng) and the Greek word for wing (pteron).1
Scientists are not sure exactly where Changchengopterus sits on the pterosaur family tree. Some studies place it close to Dorygnathus, others with the wukongopterids, and some even outside the group Monofenestrata.1
The first fossil was collected by Pan Lijun, who donated it to science. The species name pani honors him.1
Changchengopterus lived about 163 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic.1
Most asked questions about Changchengopterus
?How big was Changchengopterus?
It was small. The adult's wingspan was about 70 centimetres (about 27.5 inches).1
?What did Changchengopterus eat?
It probably ate fish, snapping them up from the water.3
?Is Changchengopterus a dinosaur?
No, it is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Changchengopterus
- Named by
- Lü 20093
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Monofenestrata3
- Classification
- Pterosauria3
- Age of the rocks
- 168 to 152 million years (Bathonian / Kimmeridgian)3
- Rock formations
- Tiaojishan3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Changchengopterus was named and described by Chinese paleontologist Lü Junchang in 2009. The first fossil, a skeleton without a skull, was found in the Tiaojishan Formation of Hebei Province, China.12
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Changchengopterus was a primitive rhamphorhynchoid, a wukongopterid, or something else. Its exact place in the pterosaur family tree is not settled.1
Where the facts come from
- Changchengopterus (en.wikipedia.org)
- A New Non-Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from Qinglong County, Hebei Province of China (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
- Changchengopterus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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Pteranodon
Quetzalcoatlus
Dorygnathus
Rhamphorhynchus
Anhanguera
Pterodactylus
Brachiosaurus
Diplodocus
Allosaurus
Brontosaurus
Compsognathus
Camarasaurus