title: New evidence from China for the nature of the pterosaur evolutionary transition.
abstract: Pterosaurs are extinct flying reptiles, the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight. Our understanding of the evolutionary transition between basal, predominantly long-tailed forms to derived short-tailed pterodactyloids remained poor until the discovery of Wukongopterus and Darwinopterus in western Liaoning, China. In this paper we report on a new genus and species, Douzhanopterus zhengi, that has a reduced tail, 173% the length of the humerus, and a reduced fifth pedal digit, whose first phalange is ca. 20% the length of metatarsal III, both unique characters to Monofenestra. The morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analysis presented in this paper demonstrate that Douzhanopterus is the sister group to the 'Painten pro-pterodactyloid' and the Pterodactyloidea, reducing the evolutionary gap between long- and short-tailed pterosaurs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.|Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
authors.forename: Shunxing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.|Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, China.
authors.forename: Junqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.|Laboratory of Systematics and Taphonomy of Fossil Vertebrates, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Museu Nacional/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20940-040, Brazil.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Shandong Geological Sciences Institute, Jinan 250013, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.|Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, China.
authors.forename: Yameng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.|Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, China.
authors.forename: Guangjin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D050281:Bones of Lower Extremity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001133:Bones of Upper Extremity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002681:China; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010802:Phylogeny