The Lauer Foundation for Paleontology provided
this deep cut Pterodactylus to the Field Museum, Chicago, USA. The foundation number is: #LF 513. It enters the large pterosaur tree (LPT, 250 taxa) distinct from all other tested pterosaurs.
Figure 1. Pterodactylus at the Field Museum from the Lauer Collection
Basically it’s your run-of-the-mill Pterodactylus,
nesting pretty much in the middle of a clade that has divided into several subclades (Fig. 2) each with several members. Now there’s another PhD thesis in the making! Who wants to lump and split?
Figure 2. Subset of the LRT focusing on Pterodactylids and Pterodactylus.
It’s worth noting the ribcage,
the one part of any pterosaur that gets the least attention. In many pterosaurs the ribcage forms the torso into a cylinder or a Releaux triangle (triangle with curved sides), but here, as in several anurognathids and Sharovipteryx, the ribcage has a flatter appearance, more elliptical in dorsal view, more like a flying saucer.
Figure 3. Sharovipteryx reconstructed. Note the flattened torso.
References
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/meet-pterosaur-flock
