Ctenochasmatidae

Ctenochasmatidae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They are characterized by their distinctive teeth, which are thought to have been used for filter-feeding. Ctenochasmatids lived from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous periods.

Ctenochasmatids Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous
Ctenochasma elegans specimen from Solnhofen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Clade:	†Ctenochasmatoidea
Family:	†Ctenochasmatidae Nopsca, 1928
Type species
†Ctenochasma roemeri Meyer, 1852
Subgroups
†Ardeadactylus? †Aurorazhdarcho? †Balaenognathus †Cathayopterus †Cratonopterus †Elanodactylus †Forfexopterus †Gladocephaloideus †Kepodactylus †Liaodactylus †Otogopterus †Petrodactyle †Pterofiltrus †Ctenochasmatinae †Ctenochasma †Pterodaustrini †Beipiaopterus †Eosipterus †Gegepterus †Pterodaustro †Gnathosaurinae †Gnathosaurus †Huanhepterus? †Lusognathus †Plataleorhynchus †Tacuadactylus †Moganopterinae †Feilongus †Moganopterus

Ctenochasmatid skulls demonstrating suspension feeding characteristics

The earliest known ctenochasmatid remains date to the Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian age. Previously, a fossil jaw recovered from the Middle Jurassic Stonesfield Slate formation in the United Kingdom, was considered the oldest known. This specimen supposedly represented a member of the family Ctenochasmatidae, though further examination suggested it actually belonged to a teleosaurid stem-crocodilian instead of a pterosaur.

Classification

Below is cladogram following a topology recovered by Brian Andres, using the most recent iteration of his data set (Andres, 2021). Anders found that three subfamilies fall within the Ctenochasmatidae: Ctenochasmatinae, Gnathosaurinae and Moganopterinae, while also including several basal genera.

Ctenochasmatidae	Ctenochasmatinae  "Pterodactylus" micronyx Liaodactylus Ctenochasma  Pterodaustrini  Pterodaustro Beipiaopterus Gegepterus Kepodactylus Elanodactylus  Moganopterinae  Feilongus Moganopterus Ardeadactylus  Gnathosaurinae  Huanhepterus Plataleorhynchus Gnathosaurus