Liaodactylus

Le-ow-dak-ty-lus.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Liaodactylus ‭(‬Liaoning finger‭)‬.

Phonetic

Le-ow-dak-ty-lus.

Named By

Chang-Fu Zhou,‭ ‬Ke-Qin Gao,‭ ‬Hongyu Yi,‭ ‬Jinzhuang Xue,‭ ‬Quanguo Li,‭ & ‬Richard C.‭ ‬Fox‭ ‬-‭ ‬2017.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Pterosauria,‭ ‬Pterodactyloidea,‭ ‬Ctenochasmatidae.

Diet

Filter feeder.

Species

L.‭ ‬primus‭

Size

Holotype skull about‭ ‬13.3‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tiaojishan Formation.

Time Period

Oxfordian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and jaws.

In Depth

       Liaodactylus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Asia during the late Jurassic.‭ ‬Liaodactylus is noted for having numerous small teeth in comb-like structures that meshed together when the jaws closed.‭ ‬This would have allowed Liaodactylus to feed by filtering out small invertebrates from water and soft sediment.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Earliest filter-feeding pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and ecological evolution of Pterodactyloidea.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Royal Society Open Science.‭ ‬4‭ (‬2‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Chang-Fu Zhou,‭ ‬Ke-Qin Gao,‭ ‬Hongyu Yi,‭ ‬Jinzhuang Xue,‭ ‬Quanguo Li,‭ & ‬Richard C.‭ ‬Fox‭ ‬-‭ ‬2017.

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