Gladocephaloideus

Name: Gladocephaloideus
Phonetic: Glad-oh-sef-ah-loy-de-us.
Named By: L� Junchang,‭ ‬Ji Qiang,‭ ‬Wei Xuefang and Liu Yongqing‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Pterosaur,‭ ‬Pterodactyloidea,‭ ‬Ctenochasmatoidea,‭ ‬Gallodactylidae.
Species: G.‭ ‬jingangshanensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Filter feeder.
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Complete skull and partial post cranial skeleton.

       Gladocephaloideus was a very exciting discovery as it was the first gallodactylid pterosaur to be discovered in Asia.‭ ‬As such Gladocephaloideus is thought to be related to Cycnorhamphus which itself is known from Germany.
       The jaws of Gladocephaloideus are filled with numerous small and thin teeth which were probably used to filter invertebrates from water and silt.‭ ‬Also of interest is the presence of what seems to be‭ ‘‬hairs‭’ ‬on the body of Gladocephaloideus which seem to have been there for insulation.‭ ‬These‭ ‘‬hairs‭’ ‬would in actual fact be what are called pycnofibres,‭ ‬growths that are actually more like primitive feathers in form that are also found upon other pterosaurs,‭ ‬most famously on the pterosaur Sordes.‭ ‬This strongly suggests that pterosaurs evolved into reptilian creatures that did not have cold-blooded metabolisms like reptiles we know today.

Further reading
- A new ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. - Cretaceous Research. 34: 26–30. - L� Junchang, Ji Qiang;,Wei Xuefang & Liu Yongqing - 2012.
- New Material of the Pterosaur Gladocephaloideus L� et al., 2012 from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China, with Comments on Its Systematic Position. - PLoS ONE 11(6): e0154888. - J. L� , M. Kundr�t & C. Shen - 2016.

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