Ctenochasmatids Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous
Cast of a Ctenochasma elegans specimen
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? †Balaenognathus †Cathayopterus †Cratonopterus[1] †Elanodactylus †Forfexopterus †Gladocephaloideus †Kepodactylus †Liaodactylus †Otogopterus †Petrodactyle[2] †Pterofiltrus †Ctenochasmatinae †Ctenochasma †Pterodaustrini †Beipiaopterus †Eosipterus †Gegepterus †Pterodaustro †Gnathosaurinae †Gnathosaurus †Huanhepterus? †Lusognathus †Plataleorhynchus †Tacuadactylus †Moganopterinae †Feilongus †Moganopterus

Ctenochasmatid skulls demonstrating suspension feeding characteristics

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.

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,^[3] though further examination suggested it actually belonged to a teleosaurid stem-crocodilian instead of a pterosaur.^[4]

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.^[5]

References