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Nyctosaurus gracilis

Reptilia

Taxonomy
Pteranodon gracilis was named by Marsh (1876). Its type specimen is YPM 1178, a set of postcrania (Scapulae, coracoids, dorsal and cervical vertebrae, partial forelimbs), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Hackberry, which is in a Santonian offshore horizon in the Niobrara Formation of Kansas.

It was recombined as Nyctodactylus gracilis by Marsh (1881) and Williston (1892); it was recombined as Pteranodon (Nyctosaurus) gracilis by Miller (1971); it was recombined as Nyctosaurus gracilis by Marsh (1876), Hay (1902), Williston (1903), Hay (1930), Charig (1967), Schoch (1984), Bennett (1994), Unwin (2003), Andres et al. (2014) and Vila Nova et al. (2014).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1876Nyctosaurus gracilis Marsh p. 480
1876Pteranodon gracilis Marsh p. 508
1881Nyctodactylus gracilis Marsh p. 343
1892Nyctodactylus gracilis Williston p. 3
1902Nyctosaurus gracilis Hay p. 508
1903Nyctosaurus gracilis Williston p. 154
1930Nyctosaurus gracilis Hay p. 163
1967Nyctosaurus gracilis Charig p. 718
1971Pteranodon (Nyctosaurus) gracilis Miller p. 11
1984Nyctosaurus gracilis Schoch
1994Nyctosaurus gracilis Bennett p. 14
2003Nyctosaurus gracilis Unwin p. 145
2014Nyctosaurus gracilis Andres et al.
2014Nyctosaurus gracilis Vila Nova et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
RankNameAuthor
Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
Romeriida
Diapsida()
Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
Crocopoda
ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
Eucrocopoda
Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
Ornithodira
PterosauromorphaPadian 1997
Pterosauria(Kaup 1834)
suborderPterodactyloideaPlieninger 1901
genusNyctosaurus
speciesgracilis()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Nyctosaurus gracilis Marsh 1876
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: volanto
Diet: piscivoreo
Created: 2009-01-04 11:38:30
Modified: 2017-04-17 10:39:23
Source: o = order, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Carroll 1988, Padian 1985, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Late/Upper Santonian to the top of the Santonian or 85.80000 to 83.60000 Ma

Collections (3 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Coniacian - Santonian89.3 - 83.6USA (Kansas) Nyctosaurus sp. (93390)
Santonian86.3 - 83.6USA (Kansas) Nyctosaurus gracilis (188486)
Late/Upper Santonian85.8 - 83.5USA (Kansas) Pteranodon gracilis (type locality: 93389)