Pterodactyloidea
They appeared during the middle Jurassic Period, and differ from the basal (though paraphyletic) rhamphorhynchoids by their short tails and long wing metacarpals (hand bones).[3] O'Sullivan and Martill (2018) described a partial synsacrum from the Stonesfield Slate identified as possibly pterodactyloid based on the number of incorporated sacrals although they commented that the morphology was perhaps closer to that of wukongopterids.[9] However, in 2010, Brian Andres re-defined the group as a stem-based taxon in his dissertation,[10] and then formalized the definition in 2014 as all pterosaurs more closely related to Pteranodon longiceps than to Pterodactylus antiquus.Ornithocheiroidea has often been used for a much more exclusive group including only the branch of traditional ornithocheirid pterosaurs, though this use has since fallen out of favor by many researchers after years of competing definitions for the various pterodactyloid clades.It was given a relationship-based definition in 2003 by Alexander Kellner, who defined it as the least inclusive clade containing Anhanguera blittersdorffi, Pteranodon longiceps, Dsungaripterus weii, and Quetzalcoatlus northropi.[20] However, in a phylogenetic analysis made by Jaime Headden and Hebert Bruno Nascimento Campos in 2014, Tapejaroidea was recovered within the Azhdarchoidea, as a clade comprising the families Tapejaridae and Thalassodromidae.[29] Kryptodrakon Propterodactylus Germanodactylidae Pterodactylus Ctenochasmatoidea Haopterus Ornithocheiromorpha Pteranodontia Tapejaridae Neoazhdarchia Some studies based on a different type of analysis have found that this basic division into primitive (archaeopterodactyloid) and advanced (eupterodactyloid) species may not be correct.[30] Eosipterus yangi Pterodactylus antiquus Diopecephalus kochi Aerodactylus scolopaciceps Aurorazhdarchidae Gallodactylidae Ctenochasmatidae Altmuehlopterus ramphastinus Germanodactylus cristatus Elanodactylus prolatus Lonchodectes compressirostris Prejanopterus curvirostra Kepodactylus insperatus Dsungaripteridae Ornithocheiromorpha Hamipterus tianshanensis Ikrandraco avatar Istiodactylus Nyctosauridae Pteranodon Sinopterus dongi Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis Tapejaromorpha Bennettazhia oregonensis Huaxiapterus jii Thalassodromeus sethi Tupuxuara leonardii Azhdarchidae
Middle JurassicLate CretaceousPreꞒPteranodonPterodaustroGuidracoAnhangueraTupandactylusdsungaripteridQuetzalcoatlusAerodactylusColoborhynchusScientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataPterosauriaPterodactyliformesDermodactylusEurolimnornisHerbstosaurusKryptodrakonNingchengopterusPangupterusSamrukiaWenupteryxArchaeopterodactyloideaAltmuehlopterusGermanodactylusGermanodactylidaeAzhdarchoideaPteranodontoideaSynonymsHaeckel/ˌtɛrəˈdækt͡ɬɔɪdɪːə/pterosaursJurassicparaphyleticrhamphorhynchoidsmetacarpalsNyctosaurusCretaceousdinosaursPterodactylPterodactylusShishugou FormationStonesfield SlateCtenochasmatidaeteleosauridapomorphyhumerushomologousPhyloCodeLusognathusctenochasmatoidstem-based taxonOrnithocheiroideaornithocheiridAnhanguera blittersdorffiPteranodon longicepsDsungaripterus weiiQuetzalcoatlus northropiIstiodactylus latidensTapejaroideaKariridracoazhdarchoidAlexander KellnerphylogeneticDsungaripterusTapejaraDsungaripteridaeTapejaridaeThalassodromidaecladogramarchaeopterodactyloidEupterodactyloidealast common ancestorCtenochasmaGallodactylusctenochasmatidsIstiodactylusOrnithocheirusOrnithocheiromorphaMimodactyluspteranodontoidPropterodactylusEuctenochasmatiaCtenochasmatoideaHaopterusPteranodontiaNeoazhdarchiaornithocheiroidsEosipterus yangiPterodactylus antiquusDiopecephalus kochiAurorazhdarchiaAerodactylus scolopacicepsAurorazhdarchidaeGallodactylidaeAltmuehlopterus ramphastinusGermanodactylus cristatusElanodactylus prolatusLonchodectes compressirostrisPrejanopterus curvirostraKepodactylus insperatusHamipterus tianshanensisIkrandraco avatarNyctosauridaeSinopterus dongiEoazhdarcho liaoxiensisTapejaromorphaBennettazhia oregonensisHuaxiapterus jiiThalassodromeus sethiTupuxuara leonardiiAzhdarchidaeCurrent BiologyBibcodeKellner, A. W. A.SauropsidaArchosauriaAvemetatarsaliaPterosauromorphaDaohugoupterusPreondactyliaAustriadactylus