A new pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China and its implications for biostratigraphy

In this article we describe a new and exceptionally well-preserved pterodactyloid pterosaur, Sinopterus dongi gen. et sp. nov. from the Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning Province of northeast China. The new species is referred to the family Tapejaridae, representing its first record outside Brazil. It also represents the earliest occurrence as well as the most complete skeleton of the family. Some revisions are made about the family according to the morphological observations of the postcranial bones of Sinopterits. Two pterosaur assemblages appear to have existed in the Jehol Group, represented by the lower Yixian Formation and upper Jiufotang Formation, respectively. The lower pterosaur assemblage shows some resemblance to that of the Late Jurassic in Solnhofen (Tithonian) by sharing members of the Pterodactylidae and Anurognathidae. The upper one shows more resemblance to that of the Early Cretaceous Santana Formation (Aptian/Albian) by comprising only pterodactyloids such as the Tapejaridae. The age of the Yixian Formation is younger than that of the Solnhofen lithographic limestone, and the age of the Jiufotang Formation (Aptian) is slightly older than the Santana Formation.