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Extinct clade of reptiles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pterodactylidae is a controversial group of pterosaurs. During the 2000s and 2010s, several competing definitions for the various Jurassic pterodactyloid groups were proposed. Pereda-Suberbiola et al. (2012) used Fabien Knoll's (2000) definition of the name Pterodactylidae.[1] Knoll had defined Pterodactylidae as a clade containing "Pterodactylus antiquus, Ctenochasma elegans, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants".[2] Using this definition with the analysis conducted by Pereda-Suberbiola et al. (2012) meant that Ctenochasmatoidea was nested inside Pterodactylidae.[1]
| Pterodactylids | |
|---|---|
| |
| Cast of the sub-adult type specimen of Pterodactylus antiquus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Infraorder: | †Archaeopterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Pterodactylidae Bonaparte, 1838 |
| Subgroups | |
Below is the majority-rule consensus tree found by Pereda-Suberbiola et al. (2012), showing their preferred definitions of Pterodactylidae and Ctenochasmatoidea.[1]
| Pterodactylidae | |
Other researchers, such as David Unwin, have traditionally defined Pterodactylidae in such a way to ensure it is nested within Ctenochasmatoidea instead. In 2003, Unwin defined the same clade (Pterodactylus + Pterodaustro) with the name Euctenochasmatia. Unwin considered this to be a subgroup within Ctenochasmatoidea, but most analyses since have found Pterodactylus to be more primitive than he thought, making Euctenochasmatia the more inclusive group.[3]
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