Feilongus

Abstract: Two newly discovered fossil pterosaurs from the Liaoning deposits in northeastern China add yet more known species to an already diverse population of flying reptiles. Living about 225 million years ago in the Cretaceous period, they belong to groups previously found only in Europe. An interesting aspect of the Liaoning deposits is the co-occurrence of pterosaurs and birds. The indications are that birds outnumbered pterosaurs in diversity and quantity. And that birds were confined to inland regions while pterosaurs dominated nearer the coast. New specimens and an analysis of the Jehol pterosaur faunae of northeastern China show an unexpected diversity of flying reptile groups in terrestrial Cretaceous ecosystems1,2,3,4. Here we report two new pterosaurs that are referred to European groups previously unknown in deposits of northeastern China. Feilongus youngi, from the Yixian Formation1,3, is closely related to the Gallodactylidae5,6 and is distinguished by the presence of two independent sagittal crests and a protruding upper jaw. Nurhachius ignaciobritoi, from the Jiufotang Formation2,3, has teeth formed by labiolingually compressed triangular crowns, only previously reported in Istiodactylus latidens7 from England. With these new discoveries, the Jehol pterosaurs show a wide range of groups including both primitive and derived forms that are not matched by any other deposit in the world. The discoveries also document the turnover of pterosaur faunae, with the primitive Anurognathidae and early archaeopterodactyloids being replaced by derived pterodactyloids. Furthermore, these deposits offer an opportunity to examine the interaction and competition between birds and pterosaurs—it indicates that the avian fauna during the Lower Cretaceous (and possibly most of the Mesozoic) dominated terrestrial, inland regions, whereas pterosaurs were more abundant in coastal areas.