Information: - Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek words "" ("pteron", for usual "pteryx") "wing", and "" ("dactylos") "finger" meaning "winged finger", "wing-finger" or "finger-wing") is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs ("wing lizards"), and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles. They appeared during the middle Jurassic Period, and differ from the basal (though paraphyletic) rhamphorhynchoidea by their short tails and long wing metacarpals (hand bones). The most advanced forms also lack teeth. Many species had well developed crests on the skull, a form of display taken to extremes in giant-crested forms like "Nyctosaurus" and "Tupandactylus". Pterodactyloids (specifically the family Azhdarchidae) were the last surviving pterosaurs when the order became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, together with the non-avian dinosaurs and most marine reptiles. - Ornithocheiridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea . They were among the last pterosaurs to possess teeth . - Azhdarchidae (from Persian word "azhdar", a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well (late Berriasian age, about 140 million years ago). Azhdarchids included some of the largest known flying animals of all time, but members no larger than a cat have also been found. Originally considered a sub-family of Pteranodontidae, Nesov (1984) named the azhdarchinae to include the pterosaurs "Azhdarcho", "Quetzalcoatlus", and "Titanopteryx" (now known as "Arambourgiania"). They were among the last known surviving members of the pterosaurs, and were a rather successful group with a worldwide distribution. By the time of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, most pterosaur families except for the Azhdarchidae disappear from the fossil record, but recent studies indicate a wealth in pterosaurian faunas, including pteranodontids, nyctosaurids, tapejarids and several indeterminate forms. Some taxa like "Navajodactylus", "Bakonydraco" and "Montanazhdarcho" were moved from Azhdarchidae to other clades. - Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria that first appeared during the Triassic. Although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research, the current scientific consensus places their origin between 231 and 243 million years ago. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the TriassicJurassic extinction event 201 million years ago. Their dominance continued through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and ended when the CretaceousPaleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups 66 million years ago. - Tupandactylus (meaning "Tupan finger", in reference to the Tupi thunder god) is a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil. It is notable for its large cranial crest, composed partly of bone and partly of soft tissue. The "Tupandactylus" genus possibly contains two species, both bearing differently sized/shaped crests that may have been used to signal and display for other "Tupandactylus", much as toucans use their bright bills to signal to one another. "Tupandactylus" crests consisted of a semicircular crest over the snout, and in the case of the type species "T. imperator", a bony prong which extended back behind the head. A second species, "T. navigans", lacked this prong, and had a much more vertical crest. Soft tissue impressions also show that the small bony crests were extended by a much larger structure made of a keratinous material. The complete crest of "T. navigans" rose in a sharp, sail-like "dome" high above the rest of the skull. - The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of pterosaurs and represent an evolutionary grade of primitive members of this group of flying reptiles. This suborder is paraphyletic in relation to the Pterodactyloidea, which arose from within the Rhamphorhynchoidea, not from a more distant common ancestor. Because it is not a completely natural grouping, Rhamphorhynchoidea is not used as a formal group in most scientific literature, though some pterosaur scientists continue to use it as an informal grouping in popular works, such as "The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time" by David Unwin, and in some formal studies. Rhamphorhynchoids were the first pterosaurs to have appeared, in the late Triassic Period (Norian age, about 210 million years ago). Unlike their descendants the pterodactyloids, most rhamphorhynchoids had teeth and long tails, and most species lacked a bony crest, though several are known to have crests formed from soft tissue like keratin. They were generally small, with wingspans rarely exceeding 2.5 meters, though one species alluded to by Alexander Stoyanow might be among the largest pterosaurs of all time with a wingspan of 10 meters, comparable to the largest azhdarchids. Nearly all had become extinct by the end of the Jurassic Period, though least one anurognathid genus, Dendrorhynchoides, persisted to the early Cretaceous. The family Wukongopteridae, which shows a mix of rhamphorynchoid and pterodactyloid features, is known from the Daohugou Beds which are most commonly dated to the Jurassic, but a few studies give a Cretaceous date. Further more, remains of a non-pterodactyloid from the Candeleros Formation extend the presence of basal pterosaurs into the at least early Late Cretaceous. - Nyctosaurus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, the remains of which have been found in the Niobrara Formation of the mid-western United States, which, during the late Cretaceous Period, was covered in an extensive shallow sea. The genus "Nyctosaurus" has had numerous species referred to it, though how many of these may actually be valid requires further study. At least one species possessed an extraordinarily large antler-like cranial crest. - Quetzalcoatlus northropi is an azhdarchid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America (Maastrichtian stage) and one of the largest known flying animals of all time. It is a member of the family Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks. Its name comes from the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. - Pterosaurs (meaning "winged lizard") are flying reptiles of the extinct clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. Early species had long, fully toothed jaws and long tails, while later forms had a highly reduced tail, and some lacked teeth. Many sported furry coats made up of hair-like filaments known as pycnofibers, which covered their bodies and parts of their wings. Pterosaurs spanned a wide range of adult sizes, from the very small anurognathids to the largest known flying creatures of all time, including "Quetzalcoatlus" and "Hatzegopteryx". Given the information, choose the subject and object entities that have the relation of 'taxon rank'.
ornithocheiridae , family