- Parapsicephalus
Taxobox
name = "Parapsicephalus"
status = fossil
fossil_range =Early Jurassic
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo =Pterosaur ia
subordo =Rhamphorhynchoidea
familia =Rhamphorhynchidae
genus = "Parapsicephalus"
genus_authority = Arthaber, 1919
species = "P. purdoi"
species_authority = (Newton, 1888; originally "Scaphognathus ")
binomial = "Parapsicephalus purdoni"
binomial_authority = von Arthaber, 1919"Parapsicephalus" (meaning "beside arch head") was a
genus ofrhamphorhynchoid pterosaur from the early Toarcian-ageLower Jurassic Alum Shale ofWhitby ,Yorkshire ,England . It is known from a partial skull lacking the snout, but including a detailed cast of thebrain . Despite this, it is an obscure genus.It was collected in the 1880s by Reverend D.W. Purdon, who is honored in the species name,cite book |last=Wellnhofer |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Wellnhofer |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs |origyear=1991 |year=1996 |publisher=Barnes and Noble Books |location=New York |isbn=0-7607-0154-7 |pages=77-78] and first described by E.T. Newton, who named it as a species of "
Scaphognathus ".Newton, E.T. (1888). On the skull, brain, and auditory organ of a new species of pterosaurian ("Scaphognathus purdoni") from the Upper Lias near Whitby, Yorkshire. "Philospophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B" 179:503-537] It was recognized as a distinct genus only decades later,von Arthaber, G. (1919). Studien uber Flugsaurier auf Grund der Bearbeitung des Wiener exemplars von "Dorygnathus banthensis" Theod Sp. "Denkschriften der königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse" 97:391-464. [German] ] although in a recent popular publication it was synonymized with "Dorygnathus " without comment.Unwin, D.M. (2006). "The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time". Pi Press:New York, p. 272. ISBN 0-13-146308-X.] It is considered to be a rhamphorhynchid,Carroll, R.L. (1988). "Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution". W.H. Freeman and Company:New York, 698 pp. ISBN 0716718227.] of medium size (estimated wingspan of ~1 m ~ [3.3 ft] ).References
External links
* [http://www.pterosaur.co.uk/species/LJP/Scapho/Paraps-purdoni.htm "Parapsicephalus"] in The Pterosaur Database
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