Azhdarchidae

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Azhdarchidae

Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo
Zahhak

Zahhak or Zohhak is a figure of Iranian mythology, evident in ancient Iranian folklore as A?i Dahaka, the name by which he also appears in the texts of the Avesta....
, the name of a dragon in Uzbek

Uzbek

Uzbek and Uzbekistani may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Uzbekistan, a Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union....
mythology, derived from the Persian

Persian language

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
of pterosaur

Pterosaur

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or Order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight....
s known primarily from the late Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide, is a geologic period from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period....
Period, and which included some of the largest known flying animals of all time. Originally considered a sub-family of Pteranodon

Pteranodon

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Encyclopedia

Uzbek

Persian language

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
of pterosaur

Pterosaur

Cretaceous

Pteranodon

Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous of North America , was one of the largest pterosaur genera, with a wingspan of up to ....
tidae, Nessov (1984) named the azhdarchinae to include the pterosaurs Azhdarcho
Azhdarcho

Azhdarcho is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of Uzbekistan. It is known from fragmentary remains including the distinctive, elongated neck vertebrae that characterizes members of the family Azhdarchidae, which also includes such giant pterosaurs as Quetzalcoatlus....
, Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America , and one of the largest known flying animals of all time....
, and "Titanopteryx" (now known as Arambourgiania
Arambourgiania

Arambourgiania is a pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Jordan. With a wingspan of 12 m it was one of the largest members of this group....
). Azhdarchids are characterized by their long legs and extremely long necks, made up of elongated neck vertebrae which are round in cross section. Most species of azhdarchids are still known mainly from their distinctive neck bones and not much else. The few azhdarchids that are known from reasonably good skeletons include Zhejiangopterus
Zhejiangopterus

Zhejiangopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, known from one species , which lived in China during the late Cretaceous Period.Zhejiangopterus was a large Azhdarchidae with a wingspan exceeding 5 metres ....
and Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America , and one of the largest known flying animals of all time....
. Azhdarchids are also distinguished by their relatively large heads and long, spear-like jaws. It had been suggested azhdarchids were skimmers, but further research has cast doubt on this idea, demonstrating that azhdarchids lacked the necessary adaptations for a skim-feeding lifestyle, and that they may have led a more terrestrial existence similar to modern storks.

Systematics

Azhdarchids were originally classified as close relatives of Pteranodon
Pteranodon

Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous of North America , was one of the largest pterosaur genera, with a wingspan of up to ....
due to their long, toothless beaks. Others have suggested they were more closely related to the toothy Ctenochasmatids (which include filter-feeders like Ctenochasma
Ctenochasma

'Ctenochasma' is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic pterosaur belonging to the suborder pterodactyloidea. Three species, C. roemeri, C. taqueti, and C....
and Pterodaustro
Pterodaustro

Pterodaustro was a Cretaceous pterosaur from South America, living 140 million years ago. Pterodaustro had a wingspan of 133 centimeters , and possessed about 1,000 tall, narrow bristle like teeth, which presumably were used in filter-feeding, much like modern flamingos....
). Currently it is widely agreed that azhdarchids were closely related to pterosaurs such as Tupuxuara
Tupuxuara

Tupuxuara is a genus of large, crested, toothless pterosaur, originally described in 1988 from the Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil by Alexander Kellner and Diogenes Campos, but since reported from North America as well....
and Tapejara.

Taxonomy

Classification after Unwin 2006, except where noted.

Family Azhdarchidae

Aralazhdarcho
Aralazhdarcho

Aralazhdarcho is a genus of Azhdarchidae pterosaur from the Santonian-Campanian Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan. It is known from fragments of neck vertebrae....
Arambourgiania
Arambourgiania

Arambourgiania is a pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Jordan. With a wingspan of 12 m it was one of the largest members of this group....
Azhdarcho
Azhdarcho

Azhdarcho is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of Uzbekistan. It is known from fragmentary remains including the distinctive, elongated neck vertebrae that characterizes members of the family Azhdarchidae, which also includes such giant pterosaurs as Quetzalcoatlus....
Bakonydraco
Bakonydraco

Bakonydraco is a genus of Azhdarchidae pterosaur from the Santonian-age Upper Cretaceous Csehb?nya Formation of the Bakony Mountains, Ihark?t, Veszpr?m , western Hungary....
Hatzegopteryx
Hatzegopteryx

Hatzegopteryx is a genus of Azhdarchidae pterosaur, known from incomplete remains found in Transylvania. The skull fragments, left humerus, and other fossilized remains indicate a huge animal with a wingspan of 12 meters or more....
Montanazhdarcho
Montanazhdarcho

Montanazhdarcho is a genus of Azhdarchidae pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of North America, known from only one species, M. minor....
Phosphatodraco
Phosphatodraco

Phosphatodraco is a genus of Azhdarchidae Pterodactyloidea pterosaur from a Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous portion of the Oulad Abdoun Phosphatic Basin, Grand Doui, near Khouribga, central Morocco....
Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America , and one of the largest known flying animals of all time....
Volgadraco
Volgadraco

Volgadraco is a genus of azhdarchidae pterodactyloidea pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of western Russia. It is known from lower beak and postcranial fragments from the early Campanian-age Rybushka Formation of Saratov Oblast, Russia....
Zhejiangopterus
Zhejiangopterus

Zhejiangopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, known from one species , which lived in China during the late Cretaceous Period.Zhejiangopterus was a large Azhdarchidae with a wingspan exceeding 5 metres ....
Possible valid azhdarchid genera

Eoazhdarcho
Eoazhdarcho

Eoazhdarcho is a genus of Azhdarchoidea pterodactyloid pterosaur. It was found in the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China....
Doratorhynchus
Doratorhynchus

The genus Doratorhynchus was created for a cervical vertebra discovered by Richard Owen in the Purbeck Limestone , identified as a pterosaur and named Pterodactylus validus in 1870....
Bogolubovia
Bogolubovia

Bogolubovia is a genus of pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, Russia. It was named for N. Nikolaevich Bogolubov, the palaeontologist who discovered the remains in 1914....
Bennettazhia
Bennettazhia

Bennettazhia is a genus of pterosaur formerly known as Pteranodon oregonensis . A section of dorsal vertebrae was unearthed from the Lower Cretaceous beds of Wheeler County, Oregon, USA....
"Ornithocheirus" bunzeli