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Ludodactylus

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(Redirected from Ludodactylus sibbicki) Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ludodactylus
Temporal range: Aptian
~112 Ma PreꞒ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil skull of Ludodactylus with yucca leaf
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Family: Anhangueridae
Subfamily: Anhanguerinae
Genus: Ludodactylus
Frey et al. 2003
Type species
Ludodactylus sibbicki
Frey et al. 2003

Ludodactylus (meaning "play finger") is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian stage) of what is now the Crato Formation of the Araripe Basin in Ceará, Brazil. The type and only species is L. sibbicki. The generic name Ludodactylus refers to the fact that the animal had the combination of teeth and a Pteranodon-like head crest, similar to many toy pterosaurs, and no such creature was known to exist until the discovery of Ludodactylus. However, Ludodactylus is not the only pterosaur known to possess these features, its very close relative Caulkicephalus is another example.

Etymology

The genus was named by Eberhard Frey et al. in 2003 and contains one known species, Ludodactylus sibbicki. The name is derived from Latin ludus, "play" and Greek daktylos, "finger". Ludus refers to the fact, long lamented by paleontologists, that many toy pterosaurs combined teeth with a Pteranodon-like head crest, while no such creature was known to exist — however, Ludodactylus shows exactly this combination of features. "Dactylus", in reference to the characteristic long wing finger, has been a common element in the names of pterosaurs, since the first known genus was named Pterodactylus. The specific name "sibbicki" is an homage to the paleoartist John Sibbick.

Description

Life restoration of Ludodactylus

Ludodactylus is based on holotype SMNK PAL 3828, a skull missing part of the head crest, that was removed from the plate before the fossil was illegally sold. Unlike other ornithocheirids (the group of which Ludodactylus was originally assigned to), it had no premaxillary crest on the snout, but did have a crest at the back of the skull. Frey et al. interpreted the deep mandible as a crest on the lower jaws. Trapped between the rami of the mandible is a yucca leaf; Frey suggested that the animal got it caught in its beak and unsuccessfully tried to dislodge it (the edge of the leaf is frayed), and then possibly died from starvation or a complication of starving. The skull would have been more than 66 centimeters (26 in) long.

Classification

In 2003, Frey et al. classified Ludodactylus in the family Ornithocheiridae. In 2007, Frey had reconsidered the validity of Ludodactylus, suggesting that it may represent the same animal as Brasileodactylus, and therefore a junior synonym. In 2014 however, Brian Andres and colleagues, in a large cladistic analysis of pterosaurs, found Ludodactylus to be slightly more closely related to ornithocheirids and anhanguerids than to Brasileodactylus. In the analysis of Andres and colleagues, Ludodactylus is classified just outside Ornithocheiridae and Anhangueridae as a derived member of the more inclusive group Anhangueria. Their cladogram is shown on the left. In 2020, a different topology by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pêgas recovered Ludodactylus within the family Anhangueridae, more specifically to the subfamily Anhanguerinae, sister taxon to both Caulkicephalus and Guidraco. This proves that it is indeed very closely related to the anhanguerids. Their cladogram is shown on the right.

Topology 1: Andres et al. (2014).

Anhangueria
Boreopteridae

Guidraco

Boreopterinae

Boreopterus

Zhenyuanopterus

Cearadactylus

Brasileodactylus

Ludodactylus

Ornithocheirae
Anhangueridae

Liaoningopterus

Anhanguera

Ornithocheiridae

Tropeognathus

Ornithocheirinae

Coloborhynchus

Ornithocheirus

Topology 2: Holgado & Pêgas (2020).

Anhangueridae
Tropeognathinae

Siroccopteryx

Tropeognathus

Mythunga

Ferrodraco

Coloborhynchinae

Aerodraco

Coloborhynchus

Nicorhynchus

Uktenadactylus

Anhanguerinae

Caulkicephalus

Guidraco

Ludodactylus

Liaoningopterus

Cearadactylus

Maaradactylus

Anhanguera

See also

References

  1. Steel, L., Martill, D.M., Unwin, D.M. and Winch, J. D. (2005). "A new pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, England". Cretaceous Research. 26 (4): 686–698. Bibcode:2005CrRes..26..686S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2005.03.005.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Frey, E., Martill, D., and Buchy, M. (2003). A new crested ornithocheirid from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil and the unusual death of an unusual pterosaur. In: Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.-M. (eds.). Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society Special Publication 217:56–63. ISBN 1-86239-143-2.
  3. ^ Andres, B.; Clark, J.; Xu, X. (2014). "The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group". Current Biology. 24 (9): 1011–6. Bibcode:2014CBio...24.1011A. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.030. PMID 24768054.
  4. ^ Holgado, B.; Pêgas, R.V. (2020). "A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi:10.4202/app.00751.2020.
Pterosauria
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Pterosauria
Pterosauria
Preondactylia
Caviramidae?
Austriadraconidae
Eopterosauria
Eudimorphodontoidea
Raeticodactylidae
Eudimorphodontidae
Eudimorphodontinae
Zambellisauria?
Macronychoptera
Dimorphodontidae
Lonchognatha?
Novialoidea
Campylognathoididae
Breviquartossa
Rhamphorhynchidae
Rhamphorhynchinae
Rhamphorhynchae
Angustinaripterini
Rhamphorhynchini
Digibrevisauria?
Scaphognathidae?
Pterodactylomorpha
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Campylognathoides liasicus

Scaphognathus crassirostris

Dorygnathus banthensis
Pterodactylomorpha
Pterodactylomorpha
Monofenestrata
Darwinoptera
Wukongopteridae
Wukongopterinae
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Jeholopterus ninchengensis Kryptodrakon progenitor
Lophocratia
Archaeopterodactyloidea
Germanodactylidae
Euctenochasmatia
Ctenochasmatoidea
Gallodactylidae
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Moganopterinae?
Gnathosaurinae
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Eupterodactyloidea
Ornithocheiroidea
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Pterodactylus antiquus Plataleorhynchus streptorophorodon
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Dsungaripteridae
Dsungaripterinae
Azhdarchoidea
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Tapejaridae
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Azhdarchomorpha
Alanqidae?
Neopterodactyloidea
Chaoyangopteridae
Chaoyangopterinae
Azhdarchiformes
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchinae
Quetzalcoatlinae
Pteranodontoidea
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Bakonydraco galaczi

Tupandactylus imperator

Quetzalcoatlus
Pteranodontoidea
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Nyctosauromorpha
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Nyctosauridae
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Ornithocheiridae
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Targaryendraconia?
Cimoliopteridae
Targaryendraconidae
Anhangueria
Hamipteridae?
Anhangueridae
Tropeognathinae?
Coloborhynchinae?
Anhanguerinae
Pteranodon longiceps

Nyctosaurus gracilis

Ludodactylus sibbicki
Taxon identifiers
Ludodactylus
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