Anurognathidae
Small, short-tailed pterosaurs with disputed evolutionary relationships.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Anurognathidae is a family of small, short-tailed pterosaurs that lived in Europe, Asia, and possibly North America during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Eight genera are definitively known, and their phylogenetic position within Pterosauria is disputed, with some analyses placing them as basal and others as sister to Pterodactyloidea or Breviquartossa. Their remains have been found in Germany, China, Kazakhstan, and possibly the United States and Mongolia.
- temporal_range
- Jurassic to Cretaceous
- known_genera
- 8 (Anurognathus, Jeholopterus, Luopterus, Cascocauda, Sinomacrops, Batrachognathus, Dendrorhynchoides, Vesperopterylus)
- wingspan
- up to 900 mm
- type_genus
- Anurognathus
- family_named_by
- Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (1928 as subfamily); Oskar Kuhn (1967 as family)
- possible_habitat
- Europe, Asia, possibly North America
Lore & Background
Anurognathidae was first named as a subfamily in 1928 by Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, with Anurognathus as the type genus. The family name was first used by Oskar Kuhn in 1967. The phylogeny of the group is disputed: some analyses, such as that of Kellner (2003), place them as the most basal group in the pterosaur tree, while Unwin recovered them as very basal, between Dimorphodontidae and Campylognathoididae. However, anurognathids share characteristics with derived Pterodactyloidea, such as short and fused tail bones. A 2010 analysis by Brian Andres indicated Anurognathidae and Pterodactyloidea were sister taxa, which conformed better to the fossil record at the time. In 2022, a phylogenetic analysis accompanying the description of Cascocauda recovered Anurognathidae as a sister clade to Breviquartossa.
Reader's Guide
Anurognathidae are significant for understanding pterosaur evolution due to their disputed phylogenetic position. Their small size, short tails, and possible nocturnal or crepuscular lifestyle, inferred from large eye sockets, suggest ecological specialization similar to bats. Their teeth indicate they were largely insectivorous, though some genera may have been piscivorous. The discovery of varied pycnofiber shapes on specimens like Cascocauda has sparked debate about whether these structures are homologous to feathers or are decomposed aktinofibrils. The reassignment of 'Dimorphodon' weintraubi to a basal position within Anurognathidae helps fill a ghost lineage gap, implying the group may have appeared in the Early Jurassic. This makes further study of anurognathid specimens critical for timing the evolution of major pterosaur clades.
Did You Know?
- Anurognathidae had wingspans of up to 900 mm.
- The family name Anurognathidae was first used by Oskar Kuhn in 1967.
- Some anurognathids, such as Vesperopterylus, were arboreal with claws suited for gripping tree branches.
- A 2018 study of two anurognathid specimens from Liaoning found pycnofiber shapes similar to bird feathers, though this interpretation has been disputed.
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