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Parapsicephalus
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<p><i>Parapsicephalus</i> (meaning "beside arch head") is a <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> of long-tailed <a href="/facts/Rhamphorhynchid/SApqVJjn">rhamphorhynchid</a> <a href="/facts/Pterosaur/YNQwa1ru">pterosaurs</a> from the <a href="/facts/Lower_Jurassic/atwEBpDz">Lower Jurassic</a> <a href="/facts/Whitby/aaPM1sfl">Whitby</a>, <a href="/facts/Yorkshire/jE4s4LNG">Yorkshire</a>, <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a>. It contains a single species, <i>P. purdoni</i>, named initially as a species of the related rhamphorhynchid <i><a href="/facts/Scaphognathus/sm5vbh2Q">Scaphognathus</a></i> in 1888 but moved to its own genus in 1919 on account of a unique combination of characteristics. In particular, the top surface of the skull of <i>Parapsicephalus</i> is convex, which is otherwise only seen in <a href="/facts/Dimorphodontia/4xqRkPxQ">dimorphodontians</a>. This has been the basis of its referral to the Dimorphodontia by some researchers, but it is generally agreed upon that <i>Parapsicephalus</i> probably represents a rhamphorhynchid. Within the Rhamphorhynchidae, <i>Parapsicephalus</i> has been synonymized with the roughly contemporary <i><a href="/facts/Dorygnathus/kMg2M6T8">Dorygnathus</a></i>; this, however, is not likely given the many differences between the two taxa, including the aforementioned convex top surface of the skull. <i>Parapsicephalus</i> has been tentatively referred to the <a href="/facts/Rhamphorhynchidae/SApqVJjn">Rhamphorhynchinae</a> subgrouping of rhamphorhynchids, but it may represent a <a href="/facts/Basal_(phylogenetics)/JQPQXpYg">basal</a> member of the group instead. </p>