Sinopterus dongi

Sinopterus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 120 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
S. dongi fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Family:	†Tapejaridae
Subfamily:	†Tapejarinae
Genus:	†Sinopterus Wang & Zhou, 2003
Species
†S. dongi Wang & Zhou, 2003 †S. lingyuanensis Lü et al., 2016 †"S." gui? Li et al., 2003

Sinopterus (meaning "Chinese wing") was a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. Three species have been classified in this genus, though only two are generally considered to be valid. Sinopterus is known for its proportionally large skull, which has a birdlike pointed beak, a long bony crest that starts with a tall premaxilla and goes back along the middle of the skull to form a point overhanging the rear of the skull, and its lack of teeth.

The type species, S. dongi, is based on IVPP V13363, an articulated, nearly complete skeleton. The skull of this individual was 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) long, and the wingspan was estimated to be 1.2 meters (3.9 feet). The authors suggested that it was an omnivore, and noted that it was the first record of a tapejarid outside of Brazil, and the earliest and most complete tapejarid.

A second species, S. gui, was named by Li, Lü, and Zhang in 2003 based on BPV-077, another nearly complete skeleton from the Jiufotang Formation. It was said to differ from S. dongi mainly in its smaller size (only about half the size of S. dongi) and the presence of a notarium, though this was later disproved. Some later studies found S. gui to simply represent a younger specimen of S. dongi, though one large analysis in 2014 found it to be a more primitive tapejarid closely related to Nemicolopterus.