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Early Cretaceous Pterosaurs

The Early Cretaceous Period started about 136 million years ago when there was a dramatic change in the types of species of pterosaurs.  Very few pterosaurs made the transition from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous and a distinct new range of larger pterosaurs evolves at this time.  The main stages in the United Kingdom are as follows.

Upper Albian
Late Gault, Late Greensand, Cambridge Greensand, Hunstanton Red Rock
Middle Albian
Early Gault and Red Chalk
Lower Gault &
Red Chalk
Gault-Greensand Junction and Late Folkston Beds
Upper Aptian
Early Greensand, Ferruginous Sands and Early Folkston Beds
Lower Aptian
Early Greensand, Atherfield Clay and Ferruginous Sands
Barremian
Wealden Beds, Weald Clay and Late Tealby Clay
Hauterivian
Wealden Beds, Tealby Series
Late Hastings Series and Claxby Ironstone
Valanginian
Wealden Beds, Early Hastings Series and Early Claxby Series
Berriasian (south) or
Ryazanian (east)
Late Purbeck Beds, Durlston Beds

There are a vast number of specimens of pterosaur bone from the Cambridge Greensand, mainly of Ornithocheirid species.  Some specimens are of very large pterosaurs, but they are fragmentary.  The Cambridge Greensand is a derived sediment and it is likely that most of the pterosaur fossils come from a slightly earlier age.  The Purbeck beds have also yielded some pterosaur remains.

There are a great number of pterosaurs worldwide attributed to this time from a number of very good sites.  The Santana formation in Brazil, The sites in Xinjiang Province, China and Western Mongolia to name but three.


The position of the continents about 120ma ago

Anhangueridae

Anhanguera santanae
Anhanguera blittersdorffi
Anhanguera winchii
Anhanguera sp - Argentina
Anhanguera sp - Australia
Anhanguera fittoni
Maaradactylus kellneri

Azhdarchidae

Bennettazhia oregonensis
Chaoyangopterus zhangi
Eoazhdarcho liauxiensis
Eopteranodon lii
Tupuxuara longicristatus
Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis
Jidapterus edentus
Lacusovagus magnificens
Shenzhoupterus chaoyangensis
Vectidraco daisymorrisae

Cearadactylidae

Cearadactylus atrox

Ctenochasmidae

Beipioapterus chenianus
Liaoxipterus brachyognathus
Ctenochasmid species - Chile
Cathayopterus grabaui
Elanodactylus prolatus
Gegepterus changi
Gladocephaloideus jingangshanensis

Dsungaripteridae

Domeykodactylus ceciliae
Dsungeripterus weii
Dsungeripterus sp. - Seoul
Dsungeripterus sp. - Japan
Noripterus complicidens
Noripterus parvus
'Santanadactylus' spixi
Lonchognathosaurus acutirostris
Nemicolopterus crypticus

Istiodactylidae

Istiodactylus latidens
Istiodactylus sinensis
Nurhachius ignaciobritoi
Longchengpterus zhaoi
Hongshanopterus lacustris

Ornithocheiridae

Araripesaurus castilhoi
Aussiedraco molnari
Boreopterus cuiae
Brasileodactylus araripensis
Barbosania gracilirostris
Coloborhynchus araripensis
Coloborhynchus piscator
Coloborhynchus spielbergi
Coloborhynchus robustus
Coloborhynchus moroccensis
Coloborhynchus wadleighi
Coloborhynchus capito
Coloborhynchus sedgwickii
Zhenyuanopterus longirostris
Caulkicephalus trimicrodon
Guidraco ventor
Liaoningopterus gui
Yixianopterus jingangshanensis
Lonchodectes platystomus
Lonchodectes daviesi
Lonchodectes machaeorhynchus
Lonchodectes microdon
Lonchadectes sagittirostris
Ludodactylus sibbicki
Morganopterus zhuiana
Ornithocheirus denticulatus
Ornithocheirus simus
Ornithocheirus mesembrinus

Pteranodontidae

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Pterodactylidae

Haopterus gracilis
Mythunga camara
Hamipterus tianshanensis

Pterodaustridae

Pterodaustro guinazui
Pterodaustro sp. - Antifagasta
Pterodaustro sp. - Egg

Tapejaridae

Caiuajara dobruskii
Sinopterus dongi
Sinopterus sp.- South Korea
Sinopterus gui
Tupandactylus imperator
Tupandactylus navigens
Tapejara wellnhoferi
Huaxiapterus jii
Huaxiapterus corollatus

Unclassified Pterosaurs

Arthurdactylus conandoylei
Thalassodromeus sethi
Pterosaur sp. - Egg
Prejanopterus curvirostra

Ichnites

Purbeckopus pentadactylus
Pteraichnus species - China
Pteraichnus cidacoi
Pteraichnus vetustior
Pteraichnus manueli
Pteraichnus parvus
Pteraichnus koreanensis
Pteraichnus nipponensis