New anurognathid from China revisited, repaired, reconstructed, then added to the LPT
Tong et al 2026 described a new anurognathid
IVPP V23669 with an incomplete skull from China and assigned it to a previously described anurognathid with a complete skull, Cascocauda.
After analysis
in the large pterosaur tree (LPT, 268 taxa) is a sister to Sinomacops and Anurognathus. The thee are similar in size. In the new taxon, pedal 5.1 is shorter than mt4. The free fingers are small. This is a new genus IMHO.
The authors misidentified several elements.
The sternal complex taphonomically migrated to the palatal region of the skull and was misidentified as a fused frontal + parietal following the model provided in Bennett 2007. Of course, that left no room for the upper temporal fenestrae. Nearby robust ribs, also displaced, were misidentified as skull parts.
Click on the links above to see the data and revised data.
Unfortunately,
the authors did not understand that the posterior half of the skull was missing due to taphonomy. Likewise, the authors did not recognize the mistakes they trusted in Bennett 2007, but instead depended on his freehand reconstruction of an anurognathid skull. Bennett misidentified a large curved jaw element as a giant partial scleral ring in the front half of the skull. No similar second scleral ring was identified. Other skull elements were also mistaken as they were built upon the original error. Details online here: http://reptileevolution.com/anurognathus-SMNS.htm
Try to avoid freehand. Use DGS methods instead. DGS minimizes errors by cutting and pasting elements in Photoshop.
Several pterosaur experts criticize the use of Photoshop even though software is widely used by the rest of the paleo community.
Nowadays you don’t have to look through a binocular microscope and create a pencil drawing off to the side using a camera lucida when the option to turn your computer monitor(s) into a widescreen eyepiece is now available.
References
Bennett SC 2007. A second specimen of the pterosaur Anurognathus ammoni. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 81(4):376-398.
Tong S-D et al (3 co-authors) 2026. Two anurognathid pterosaur specimens from the Yanliao Biota and a new interpretation of anurognathid skulls. Vertebrata PalAsiatica DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.260411
wiki/Anurognathus
wiki/Sinomacrops
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2026/04/13/new-anurognathid-from-china-revisited-repaired-reconstructed-then-added-to-the-lpt/
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