Name: Laopteryx
(Stone wing).
Phonetic: Lay-op-teh-rix.
Named By: Othniel Charles Marsh - 1881.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Pterosauria.
Species: L. priscus (type).
Diet: Uncertain due to incomplete fossil material.
Size: Uncertain due to incomplete fossil material.
Known locations: USA, Wyoming - Morrison Formation.
Time period: Late Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Hind portion of the cranium.
Of
all the pterosaurs
Laopteryx probably has the least
amount of fossil
material attributed to it, only a rear portion of the skull. When
Othniel Charles Marsh named it he thought that he was actually dealing
with a prehistoric bird. This thinking held true until 1986 when John
Ostrom found it to be more similar to pterosaurs. Also a tooth that was
attributed to the partial cranium was considered to belong to an
unknown crocodylomorph and as such separated from the specimen.
Because
only the hind portion of the cranium is known, no one knows what kind
of pterosaur Laopteryx actually was. We don't even
know where to place
it amongst others in the pterosaur family tree. The lack of fossil
material also means that no other material could realistically be
attributed to the type specimen on the grounds of lack of
distinguishing features that would enable identification. This is why
Laopteryx is considered to be an invalid genus by
many pterosaur
researchers.
It
may seem strange that a genus could be named upon such a lack of fossil
material, but it should be remembered that Laopteryx
was named during
the 'bone wars'. This was a time when Othniel Charles Marsh was
fiercely competing with his rival Edward Drinker Cope to name as many
different prehistoric species as possible. During this time it was also
quite commonplace to name prehistoric creatures based upon only the
smallest amount of remains with even some species being described from
only teeth!
Further reading
- Discovery of a fossil bird in the Jurassic of Wyoming. American
Journal of Science 31:341-342. - O. C. Marsh - 1881.
- The Jurassic ‘bird’ Laopteryx priscus
re-examined. - Contrib. geol.
Spec. Pap. 3, 11–19. - J. H. Ostrom - 1986.