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'''Boreopterus''' (meaning "north wing") is a genus of ornithocheirid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Barremian-Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Dalian, Liaoning, China. It is based on JZMP-04-07-3, a nearly complete skeleton and skull. The skull is 235 millimeters long (9.25 inches), and its wingspan is estimated to have been around 1.45 meters (4.76 feet). Its teeth, especially the anterior nine pairs, are quite large for an ornithocheirid, forming a mesh of sharp teeth at the front of the mouth; the third and fourth teeth from the front are the largest. There are at least 27 teeth in each side of both the upper and lower jaws, which is a large amount. A new ornithocheirid from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China, Junchang Lü, , , Acta Geologica Sinica, 2005
The status of ''Boreopterus'' as an ornithocheiroid has been supported by recent publications, Preliminary results of a phylogenetic analysis of the pterosaurs from western Liaoning and surrounding area, , Junchang, Lü, Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea, 2006 The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time, , David M., Unwin, Pi Press, 2006, but it may form its own basal clade with ''Feilongus''. A new report following this line of thought has put it and ''Feilongus'' into the new ornithocheiroid family, the Boreopteridae. Pterosaurs from China, , Lü, Junchang, Geological Publishing House, 2006,

Contents

Paleobiology

References

External links

Paleobiology

Ornithocheiroids like ''Boreopterus'' are interpreted as soaring animals, like today's albatrosses and frigatebirds. The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time, , David M., Unwin, Pi Press, 2006,

References

External links

★ ''Boreopterus'' in The Pterosaur Database

★ ''Boreopterus'' in The Pterosauria

★ Restorations of the skull and skeleton of ''Boreopterus'' in The Grave Yard