Zhenyuanopterus is a genus of pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous (early Aptian) Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.

 It has been suggested that Zhenyuanopterus foraged while swimming, trapping prey within its needle-like teeth, a method similar to that of modern Platanista river dolphins, which display a similar dentition. This is a reasonably large pterosaur, with a wingspan of about 4 m (Lü 2010).

 One more interesting thing to say about these pterosaurs – and this isn’t unique to boreopterids but goes for ornithocheirids as well – look how tiny their feet are! It also seems that some ornithocheiroids lack fibulae, but it remains uncertain how widespread this is (among boreopterids, Boreopterus lacks them but this was assumed to be preservational, while Zhenyuanopterus has them). The enormous wings and very small, weak legs of many ornithocheiroids show pretty convincingly that they were predominantly aerial, that they walked little, and that they made a living by grabbing objects while in flight. What a strong contrast to long-legged, relatively short-winged pterodactyloids like the azhdarchids.

 It has been often suggested that this animal is actually the adult of its close relative Boreopterus, which is known to be a juvenile.

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Tags: Вымершие рептилии, Мел, авеметатарзалии, архозавроморфы, архозавры, бореоптериды, диапсиды, монофенестраты, орнитохейройды, птеранодонтойды, птеродактили, птерозавры

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