Mimodactylus and MSNM V 3881 the Lebanon ornithocheirid

The Lebanon ornithocheirid MSNM V 3881(Dalla Vecchia, Adruini & Kellner 2001) A small, robust wing from Lebanon has a radius less than half the diameter of the ulna and manual digit II is subequal to III. At present there is little else to distinguish it from Haopterus, except that it has a longer metacarpus relative to the ulna.

The Scaphognathia include Pterorhynchus, Scaphognathus, their most recent common ancestor and all of its descendents. One major clade includes the Cycnorhamphidae and Ornithocheiridae. The other major clade, originating with Ornithocephalus includes Pterodactylus, Germanodactylus and others. While Dorygnathus directly produced two pterodactyloid-grade clades, Scaphognathus directly produced two more.

See the family tree of the Pterosauria here.

Mimodactylus libanensis (Kellner et al. 2019; Late Cretaceous, 95mya; MIM no number, Lebanon) is known from a virtually complete specimen, with the top of the skull still buried in the sediment. Originally it was considered closest to Haopterus, together comprising the Mimodactylidae. Here Mimodactylus nests between Yixianopterus and Haopterus, so the LRT does not support the clade Mimodactylidae.

Dalla Vecchia FM, Arduin P and Kellner AWA 2001. The first pterosaur from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) Lagerstätten of Lebanon. Cretaceous Research 22: 219-225.

Kellner AWA et al. (6 co-authors) 2019. First complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent: insight into pterodactyloid diversity. Nature.com/ScientificReports 9:17875. PDF

wiki/Ornithocheiridae
wiki/Mimodactylus

Scaphognathus n110

TM 13104 - n34

Gmu 10157

Ornithocheiridae

Yixianopterus

JZMP embryo

MSNM V 3881 Lebanon