It is known from a mostly-complete lower jaw, which bears 36 slender, evenly-spaced, conical teeth jutting out at an angle on its tip. Some teeth are smaller than the others, and appear to be replacement teeth. The teeth had a relatively high density of over 4 per centimetre (10/in), although the spaces between the teeth were wider than the diameter of the teeth themselves.[2] Such teeth are not seen in any other toothed pterosaurs from the Jiufotang Formation with comparable material, and this specialized dental morphology is indicative of a piscivorous lifestyle.[1]
Although no phylogenetic analysis was conducted to determine its affinities, Pangupterus has a small process, called an odontoid, on the end of the maxilla; such a process is also seen in the istiodactylidsLongchengpterus and Istiodactylus.[1][3] In 2022, Chang-Fu Zhou and colleagues identified Pangupterus as a member of the Ctenochasmatidae without comment.[2]
References
^ abcLu, J.; Liu, C.; Pan, L.; Shen, C. (2016). "A New Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Western Part of Liaoning Province, Northeastern China". Acta Geologica Sinica. 90 (3): 777–782. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12721. S2CID132555691.
^ abZhou, C.-F.; Wang, X.; Wang, J. (2022). "First evidence for tooth–tooth occlusion in a ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 521: 9–17. doi:10.1144/SP521-2021-141. S2CID244695072.