Monofenestrata

Monofenestrata is an unranked group of pterosaurs that includes the family Wukongopteridae and the suborder Pterodactyloidea.^[3]

Monofenestratans Temporal range: Middle Jurassic – Late Cretaceous, 166–66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil specimen of Darwinopterus modularis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Clade:	†Pterodactylomorpha
Clade:	†Monofenestrata Lü et al., 2010
Subgroups
†Archaeoistiodactylus †Darwinoptera †Allkaruen?[1] †Ceoptera[1] †Pterorhynchus †Wukongopteridae †Pterodactyliformes †Changchengopterus †Douzhanopterus †Skiphosoura[2] †Caelidracones

The clade Monofenestrata was in 2009/2010 defined as the group consisting of Pterodactylus and all species sharing with Pterodactylus the synapomorphy of an external nostril confluent with the antorbital fenestra, the major skull opening on the side of the snout. The name is derived from Greek monos, "single", and Latin fenestra, "window". The concept was inspired by the discovery of Darwinopterus, a species combining a pterodactyloid-type skull with a more basal build of the remainder of the body.^[3] The Darwinoptera, a primitive subgroup of monofenestratans showing this transitional anatomy, was also named for Darwinopterus and defined as all descendants of its common ancestor with Pterorhynchus.^[4]

The earliest known monofenestratan fossils have been found in the Stonesfield Slate formation of the United Kingdom, which dates to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, dated to about 166 million years ago. Identified elements include cervical vertebrae, fourth metacarpals and a possible pterodactyloid synsacrum.^[5] An earlier undescribed taxon along with the coeval and corregional Allkaruen may also belong to the group, both reported from Middle Toarcian layers of the Cañadón Asfalto Formation of Argentina.^[6][7]

Below is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic analysis presented by Andres, Clark & Xu, 2014. This study found the two traditional groupings of ctenochasmatoids and kin as an early branching group (represented as the group Archaeopterodactyloidea), with all other pterodactyloids grouped into the Eupterodactyloidea.^[4]

Pterodactylomorpha	Sordes  Monofenestrata  Darwinoptera Pterorhynchus Wukongopteridae Pterodactyliformes  Changchengopterus  Caelidracones  Anurognathidae Pterodactyloidea Archaeopterodactyloidea Eupterodactyloidea

References

1. Martin-Silverstone, Elizabeth; Unwin, David M.; Cuff, Andrew R.; Brown, Emily E.; Allington-Jones, Lu; Barrett, Paul M. (2024-02-05). "A new pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland and the early diversification of flying reptile". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2298741. ISSN 0272-4634.
2. Hone, David W. E.; Fitch, Adam; Selzer, Stefan; Lauer, René; Lauer, Bruce (2024-11-18). "A new and large monofenestratan reveals the evolutionary transition to the pterodactyloid pterosaurs". Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.023. ISSN 0960-9822.
3. Lü, J.; Unwin, D.M.; Jin, X.; Liu, Y.; Ji, Q. (2010). "Evidence for modular evolution in a long-tailed pterosaur with a pterodactyloid skull". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 277 (1680): 383–389. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1603. PMC 2842655. PMID 19828548.
4. Andres, B.; Clark, J.; Xu, X. (2014). "The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group". Current Biology. 24 (9): 1011–6. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.030. PMID 24768054.
5. Michael O’Sullivan; David M. Martill (2018). "Pterosauria of the Great Oolite Group (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, England". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Online edition. doi:10.4202/app.00490.2018.
6. Codorniú, L.; Carabajal, A.P.; Pol, D.; Unwin, D.; Rauhut, O.W.M (2016). "A Jurassic pterosaur from Patagonia and the origin of the pterodactyloid neurocranium". PeerJ. 4: e2311. doi:10.7717/peerj.2311. PMC 5012331. PMID 27635315.
7. Fernandes, A.E; Pol, D.; Rauhut, O.W.M. (2024). "A monofenestratan pterosaur from the late Early Jurassic of the Chubut province of Patagonia, Argentina" (PDF). EAVP2024 Abstract Book and Programme. 21 (1): 18.