A new iodactylid pterosaur from western Liaoning

A new isfiodactyhd pterosaur, Longchengpterus zhaoi gen. et sp. nov., is erected, based on an incomplete skeleton with a part of skull from the Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang, western Liaoning. The skull and tooth morphologies indicate that Longchengpterus zhaoi is more closely related to lstiodactylus latidens than to other pterosaurs. Longchengpterus zhaoi is the only istiodactyhd pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning. The family Isfiodactyhd originally had only a genus and species, which was found in the Early Cretaceous strata of Britain. The discovery of the new Early Cretaceous istiodactyhd from western Liaoning not only expands its geographical distribution but also proves that western Liaoning is an important region for the istiodactylid radiation and diversity during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. It has great implications for the study of the origin and evolution of pterosaurs.