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Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek words πτερόν (pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing", and δάκτυλος (dáktylos) "finger") [2] is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs ("wing lizards"), and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles.
Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. [9] There were two major types of pterosaurs. Basal pterosaurs (also called 'non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs' or 'rhamphorhynchoids') were smaller animals with fully toothed jaws and, typically, long ...
The split between dinosaurs and pterosaurs occurred just after aphanosaurs branched off the archosaur family tree. This split corresponds to the subgroup Ornithodira ( Ancient Greek ὄρνις ( órnis , “bird”) + δειρή ( deirḗ , “throat”), defined as the last common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and all of its descendants.
Pterodactylus (from Ancient Greek: πτεροδάκτυλος, romanized: pterodáktylos ' winged finger ' [2]) is a genus of extinct pterosaurs.It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehistoric reptiles to ever be discovered.
In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. The term is derived from the Greek word δακτυλος (dáktylos) meaning "finger." Sometimes the suffix "-dactylia" is used. The derived adjectives end with "-dactyl" or "-dactylous."
Dinosaur classification began in 1842 when Sir Richard Owen placed Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, and Hylaeosaurus in "a distinct tribe or suborder of Saurian Reptiles, for which I would propose the name of Dinosauria."
Dinosauromorpha is a clade of avemetatarsalians (archosaurs closer to birds than to crocodilians) that includes the Dinosauria (dinosaurs) and some of their close relatives. It was originally defined to include dinosauriforms and lagerpetids, [3] with later formulations specifically excluding pterosaurs from the group. [4]
Scansoriopterygidae (meaning "climbing wings") is an extinct family of climbing and gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs.Scansoriopterygids are known from five well-preserved fossils, representing four species, unearthed in the Tiaojishan Formation fossil beds (dating to the mid-late Jurassic Period) of Liaoning and Hebei, China.