Nurhachius

Nur-ha-chi-us.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Nurhachius (Nurhaci).

Phonetic

Nur-ha-chi-us.

Named By

Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Kellner, Zhou Zhonge and Diogenes de Almeida Campos - 2005.

Classification

Chordata, Reptilia, Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Istiodactylidae.

Diet

Piscivore.

Species

N. ignaciobritoi

Size

Estimated 2.4-2.5 meter wingspan.

Known locations

China, Liaoning Province - Jiufotang Formation.

Time Period

Aptian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial remains.

In Depth

       Nurhachius is perhaps most closely related to Istiodactylus even though the two are geographically separated by several thousand miles. However Nurhachius has a different skull which is lower with a slightly curved lower jaw.

       Nurhachius is named after the first khan of the Qing dynasty, who once ruled from the area where Nurhachius was found.

Further Reading

– Pterosaur diversity and faunal turnover in Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in China. – Nature 437:875-879. – X. Wang, A. W. A. Kellner, Z. Zhou & D. A. Campos – 2005. – Nurhachius luei, a new istiodactylid pterosaur (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province (China) and comments on the Istiodactylidae. – PeerJ 7:e7688. – X. Zhou, R. V. P�gas, M. E. C. Leal & N. Bonde – 2019.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT