Kingdom Animalia Suborder †Pterodactyloidea Phylum Chordata Order Pterosaurs | Class Reptilia Clade †Lanceodontia Rank Family | |
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Similar Istiodactylus, Pterosaurs, Nurhachius, Ornithocheiroidea, Pteranodontidae | ||
Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus.
Remains of taxa that can be confidently assigned to Istiodactylidae have been found in the UK and China, in rocks dating from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian to Aptian stage). Arbour and Currie (2011) described Canadian Gwawinapterus beardi as a member of Istiodactylidae living in the late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage); however, Witton (2012) suggested the tooth replacement pattern in this animal does not match that of pterosaurs, suggesting that the species might be non-pterosaurian. Additional research suggested that the species was in fact a fish. The earliest known species might be Archaeoistiodactylus linglongtaensis, from the Middle Jurassic of China; however, it also has been suggested that the holotype specimen of this species might actually be a poorly preserved specimen of Darwinopterus. Hongshanopterus, a supposed istiodactylid from China, has been reclassified as a non-istiodactylid member of Ornithocheroidea of uncertain phylogenetic placement by Witton (2012).
Istiodactylids were medium sized pterosaurs with flat, rounded jaws similar to that of a duck. They had small teeth lining their jaws, however.