Skiphosoura skull details

Earlier
Skiphosoura bavarica (Hone et al 2024, Fig 1) the Chinese pterosaur discovered in Germany, nested in the large pterosaur tree (LPT, 263 taxa) basal to the Jianchangopterus (Fig 2) + STM 19-59 clade.

That data made Skiphosoura transitional from darwinopterids (= wukongopterids) and pterodactylids + germanodactylids (and their descendants).

Other pterodactyloid-grade pterosaurs had other ancestors (Peters 2007).

Now
with SuppData made available (after tech difficulties) the rostral part of the skull was traced using DGS methods (Fig 1).

This new data did not move Skiphosaura in the LPT.

Figure 1. Skiphosoura skull and mandible traced with DGS colors. The postorbital is moved close to its invivo position. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 1. Skiphosoura skull and mandible traced with DGS colors. The postorbital is moved close to its invivo position. Compare to Jianchangopterus which has a very fragile post-rostral skull.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-89931″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Skiphosoura skull and mandible traced with DGS colors. The postorbital is moved close to its invivo position. ” width=”584″ height=”373″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg?w=584&h=373 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg?w=150&h=96 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg?w=300&h=192 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 1. Skiphosoura skull and mandible traced with DGS colors. The postorbital is moved close to its invivo position. Compare to Jianchangopterus which has a very fragile post-rostral skull.

However, rather than the previous recovery of
1200 MPTs, that number has been reduced to just 4 MPTs. So the LPT is highly resolved.

Figure 2. Jianchangopterus is a sister to Skiphosoura and has a gracile post-rostral skull. Perhaps this is why the same area of the Skiphosoura became so scattered that it cannot be reconstructed with currently available data. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 2. Jianchangopterus is a sister to Skiphosoura and has a gracile post-rostral skull. Perhaps this is why the same area of the Skiphosoura became so scattered that it cannot be reconstructed with currently available data.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-89933″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Jianchangopterus is a sister to Skiphosoura and has a gracile post-rostral skull. Perhaps this is why the same area of the Skiphosoura became so scattered that it cannot be reconstructed with currently available data. ” width=”584″ height=”507″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg?w=584&h=507 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg?w=150&h=130 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg?w=300&h=260 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/jianchangopterus-recon588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 2. Jianchangopterus is a sister to Skiphosoura and has a gracile post-rostral skull. Perhaps this is why the same area of the Skiphosoura became so scattered that it cannot be reconstructed with currently available data.

The original freehand reconstruction of the skull
of Skiphosoura (Fig 3) had a few problems. 1. The authors mislabeled the palatal process of the maxilla as the palatine. 2. They did not identify the naris = nostril. 3. They were not able to separate the premaxilla from the nasal and maxilla.

Figure 3. The skull of Skiphosoura compared to related Jianchangopterus and STM19-59 and the original freehand version.

” data-image-caption=”

Figure 3. The skull of Skiphosoura compared to related Jianchangopterus and STM19-59 and the original freehand version.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg?w=131″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg?w=448″ class=”size-full wp-image-89936″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg” alt=”Figure 3. The skull of Skiphosoura compared to related Jianchangopterus and STM19-59 and the original freehand version. ” width=”584″ height=”1334″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg?w=584&h=1334 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg?w=66&h=150 66w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg?w=131&h=300 131w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/skiphosoura.skull_.copared588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 3. The skull of Skiphosoura compared to related Jianchangopterus and STM19-59 and the original freehand version. The Hone et al palatine [pl in green is actually the palatal process of the maxilla. Note the fragility of the post-rostral areas.

The phylogenetic analysis
of Hone et al 2024 omitted the lepidosaurian tanystrophid outgroup recovered by Peters 2000. Those include Cosesaurus, Sharovipteryx and Longisquama, each taxon closer in appearance to the basalmost pterosaur, Bergamodactylus. Instead Hone et al cherry-picked the archosauriforms, Euparkeria, Ornithosuchus, Herrerasaurus and Lagerpeton, none of which resemble pterosaurs in the least.

If you’re going to university, you’ll have to provide these wrong answers to pass their tests, which you are paying for through your tuition and book purchases.

The Hone et al  analysis also nested
Skiphosoura between the darwinopterids and the pterodactylids + germanodactylids, matching the LRT, more or less. Too few dorygnathids, scaphognathids and pterodactylids hobble this study. Jianchangopterus (Fig 2) and STM19-59 (Fig 3) are also missing. Tiny adult pterosaurs are likewise missing under the presumption that pterosaurs are archosauriformes that change their shape during ontogeny.

That is false, as embryos and hatchlings matching adult proportions, as in lepidosaurs like Huehuecuetzpalli, a pre-tanystropheid.

Hone et al borrowed their cladogram from another worker.
Try not to do that as it involves trust. Have your own cladogram so you’ll know it was built correctly.

References
Hone DWE et al (4 co-authors including Mr and Mrs Lauer) 2024. A new and large monofenestrata reveals the evolutionary transition to the pterodactyloid pterosaurs, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.023. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)01377-0
Pegas RV 2024. A taxonomic note on the tapejarid pterosaurs from the Pterosaur Graveyard site (Caiua´ Group,?Early Cretaceous of Southern Brazil): evidence for the presence of two species. Hist. Biol. 1–22.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2024.2355664.
Peters D 2000b. A reexamination of four prolacertiforms with implications for pterosaur phylogenesis. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 106: 293–336.
Peters D 2007. The origin and radiation of the Pterosauria. In D. Hone ed. Flugsaurier. The Wellnhofer pterosaur meeting, 2007, Munich, Germany. p. 27.

What exactly IS a pterosaur? – part 3 of 3

Skiphosoura bavarica enters – then exits the LPT