Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

First Articulated Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Published:
Paleontological Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A nearly complete skeleton of a Mesozoic pterosaur, which probably belongs to Jeholopterus (Anurognathidae), was discovered in the third member of the Sinuiju Formation, Paektho-dong, Sinuiju City, North Phyongan Province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This find documents the first pterosaur fossil from the Mesozoic of DPRK.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.

REFERENCES

  1. Bakhurina, N.N. and Unwin, D.M., Preliminary report on the evidence for “hair” in Sordes pilosus, an Upper Jurassic pterosaur from Middle Asia, in Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Sun, A.L. and Wang, Y.Q., Eds., Beijing: China Ocean Press, 1995, pp. 79–82.

  2. Benton, M.J., Reptiles, in The Fossil Record, Benton, M.J., Ed., London: Chapman and Hall, 1993, vol. 2, pp. 681–715.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bennett, S.C., A second specimen of the pterosaur Anurognathus ammoni, Paleontol. Zh., 2007, vol. 81, pp. 376–398.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hone, D.W.E., Van Rooijen, M.K., and Habib, M.B., The wingtips of the pterosaurs: anatomy, aeronautical function and ecological implications, Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 2015, vol. 440, pp. 431–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ji, S. and Ji, Q., Discovery of a new pterosaur in western Liaoning, China, Acta Geol. Sin., 1997, vol. 71, pp. 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ji, S. and Ji, Q., A new fossil pterosaur (Rhamphorhynchoidea) from Liaoning, Jiangsu Geol., 1998, vol. 22, pp. 199–206.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ji, S.A., Ji, Q., and Padian, K., Biostratigraphy of new pterosaurs from China, Nature, 1999, vol. 398, pp. 573–574.

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Jon, S.H., Won, C.G., So, K.S., and Nam, T.Y., New Mesozoic insect fossils from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Cretaceous Research, 2019, vol. 99, pp. 240–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lü, J.C. and Hone, D.W.E., A new Chinese anurognathid pterosaur and the evolution of pterosaurian tail lengths, Acta Geol. Sin., 2012, vol. 86, pp. 1317–1325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. So, K.S. and Won, C.G., First cockroaches (Insecta; Blattaria: Blattulidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Sinuiju Formation, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Associated fossil plant assemblages and paleoclimatic inferences, Cretaceous Res., 2021, vol. 126, 104913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Sullivan, C., Wang, Y., Hone, D.W.E., et al., The vertebrates of the Jurassic Daohugou Biota of Northeastern China, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2014, vol. 34, pp. 243–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Unwin, D.M., Lü, J.C., and Bakhurina, N.N., On the systematic and stratigraphic significance of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (Jehol Group) of Liaoning, China, Mitteil. Mus. Naturkd. Berlin, Geowis. Reihe, 2000, vol. 3, pp. 181–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Unwin, D.M. and Bakhurina, N.N., Pterosaurs from Russia, Middle Asia and Mongolia, in The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia, Benton, M.J., Shishkin, M.A., Unwin, D.M., and Kurochkin, E.N., Eds., Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000, pp. 420–433.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wang X., Zhou Z., Zhang F., and Xu X., A nearly completely articulated rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur with exceptionally well-preserved wing membranes and “hairs” from Inner Mongolia, northeast China, Chin. Sci. Bull., 2002, vol. 47, pp. 226–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Wellnhofer, P., Die Rhamphorhynchoidea (Pterosauria) der Oberjura-Plattenkalke Suddeutschlands, teil III: Palaokologie und Stammesgeschichte, Palaeontogr. A, 1975, Bd. 149, S. 1–30.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Won, C.G., So, K.S., and Kim, H.C., A new odonatan (Stenophlebiidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Sinuiju Formation of North Phyongan Province, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Palaeoworld, 2021, vol. 31, pp. 116–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Zhou, Z.H. and Wang, Y., Vertebrate assemblages of the Jurassic Yanliao biota and the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota: Comparisons and implications, Palaeoworld, 2017, vol. 26, pp. 241–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Nam-gyu Han for discovery and contribution to the study of the Sinuiju pterosaur. Our sincere gratitude is also offered to the anonymous reviewer for very useful comments on the earlier version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particular research were obtained.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, Faculty of Resource Sciences, Kim Il Sung University, Pyongyang, North Korea

    K. S. So, P. H. Kim & C. G. Won

Authors
  1. K. S. So
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. H. Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. C. G. Won
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. S. So.

Ethics declarations

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors of this work declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

This work does not contain any studies involving human and animal subjects.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note.

Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

So, K.S., Kim, P.H. & Won, C.G. First Articulated Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Paleontol. J. 57 (Suppl 1), S90–S94 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S003103012360018X

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S003103012360018X

Keywords:

Search

Navigation