Douzhanopterus

Douzhanopterus
Temporal range: Oxfordian, 160 Ma
Photograph of the type specimen of Douzhanopterus (a) with closeups of the tail (b) and foot (c)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Clade: Pterodactyliformes
Genus: Douzhanopterus
Wang et al., 2017
Type species
Douzhanopterus zhengi
Wang et al., 2017

Douzhanopterus is an extinct genus of monofenestratan pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of Liaoning, China. It contains a single species, D. zhengi, named by Wang et al. in 2017. In many respects, it represents a transitional form between basal pterosaurs and the more specialized pterodactyloids; for instance, its tail is intermediate in length, still being about twice the length of the femur but relatively shorter compared to that of the more basal Wukongopteridae. Other intermediate traits include the relative lengths of the neck vertebrae and the retention of two, albeit reduced, phalanx bones in the fifth digit of the foot. Phylogenetically, Douzhanopterus is nested between the wukongopterids and Propterodactylus, which is similar to Douzhanopterus in many respects but approaches pterodactyloids more closely elsewhere.