Kingdom Animalia Suborder †Pterodactyloidea Phylum Chordata Order Pterosaurs | Class Reptilia Clade †Neoazhdarchia Rank Family | |
Similar Pterosaurs, Chaoyangopterus, Lacusovagus, Thalassodromidae, Jidapterus | ||
The Chaoyangopteridae are a family of pterosaurs within the Azhdarchoidea.
The clade Chaoyangopteridae was first defined in 2008 by Lü Junchang and David Unwin as: "Chaoyangopterus, Shenzhoupterus, their most recent common ancestor and all taxa more closely related to this clade than to Tapejara, Tupuxuara or Quetzalcoatlus". Based on neck and limb proportions, it has been suggested they occupied a similar ecological niche to that of azhdarchid pterosaurs, though it is possible they were more specialised as several genera occur in Liaoning, while azhdarchids usually occur by one genus in a specific location. The Chaoyangopteridae are mostly known from Asia, though the possible member Lacusovagus occurs in South America and there are possible fossil remains from Africa. Microtuban may extend the clade's existence into the early Late Cretaceous.