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Pterodactylids Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous, 152–105 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
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
†Pterodactylus †Ctenochasmatoidea

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. Knoll had defined Pterodactylidae as a clade containing "Pterodactylus antiquus, Ctenochasma elegans, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants". Using this definition with the analysis conducted by Pereda-Suberbiola et al. (2012) meant that Ctenochasmatoidea was nested inside Pterodactylidae.

Classification

Below is the majority-rule consensus tree found by Pereda-Suberbiola et al. (2012), showing their preferred definitions of Pterodactylidae and Ctenochasmatoidea.

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.

References

1. ^ Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola; Fabien Knoll; José Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca; Julio Company; Fidel Torcida Fernández-Baldor (2012). "Reassessment of Prejanopterus curvirostris, a Basal Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Spain". Acta Geologica Sinica. 86 (6): 1389–1401. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12008. hdl:10651/13364. S2CID 129917510.
2. Fabien Knoll (2000). "Pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous (?Berriasian) of Anoual, Morocco" (PDF). Annales de Paléontologie. 86 (3): 157–164. doi:10.1016/S0753-3969(00)80006-3.
3. Unwin, D. M. (2003). "On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 217 (1): 139–190. Bibcode:2003GSLSP.217..139U. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.924.5957. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2003.217.01.11. S2CID 86710955.

• Pterodactyloids
• Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte
• Pterosaur families