'' in the
National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan
Tupuxuara was initially assigned to the family
Tapejaridae in its description by Kellner, closely related to the pterosaur
Tapejara. This arrangement would later be supported by many different studies. However, conflicting studies also arose. A new group had been named in 2003 by paleontologist David Unwin, the
Neoazhdarchia, containing
Tupuxuara and the family
Azhdarchidae. This new group, like the Tapejaridae, would be inside Azhdarchoidea. In 2006, this arrangement would be further supported by British paleontologists
David Martill and
Darren Naish, who found Tapejaridae to be
paraphyletic (unnatural), and found both
Tupuxuara and
Thalassodromeus as
sister taxa to the Azhdarchidae. However, in 2009, Witton stated that it had never been a validly established name, arguing that Thalassodrominae should be the proper name for the group containing
Tupuxuara and
Thalassodromeus. Witton supported the concept of the group Neoazhdarchia, so he further converted the subfamily Thalassodrominae into its own family called Thalassodromidae, and included it within said group. skull of the closely related
Kariridraco, another member of the family
Thalassodromidae Considering that the group containing
Tupuxuara and
Thalassodromeus has received two different denominations throughout the years, Thalassodromidae and Thalassodrominae, paleontologist Rubi Pêgas and colleagues in 2023 argued that despite the disagreements between the position of said group within Azhdarchoidea, the species contained within it have almost always been the same ones. Therefore, they deemed the difference in naming pattern undesirable. They favored the denomination Thalassodromidae, in order to have consistency with other studies that used the same name. In their analysis, they supported a close relationship between the thalassodromids and the family Tapejaridae, following the classification model established by Kellner. Both Thalassodromidae and Tapejaridae would form the larger group
Tapejaromorpha (defined as the most inclusive
clade containing
Tapejara wellnhoferi but not
Azhdarcho lancicollis). Subsequent studies using Kellner's model would also employ the denomination Thalassodromidae instead of Thalassodrominae.
paleomap showing where
Tupuxuara (teal) and its relatives have been found Below are two
cladograms showing different conflicting studies regarding the position of Thalassodromidae. The first one is from a
phylogenetic analysis by paleontologist Nicholas Longrich and colleagues in 2018. It showcases the interrelationships within Azhdarchoidea, in which Thalassodromidae was recovered as the sister taxon of Dsungaripteridae. Aside from
Thalassodromeus, the pterosaurs
Alanqa and
Aerotitan were also found as thalassodromids. The second cladogram is based on the phylogenetic analysis conducted by Pêgas and colleagues in 2023. In this study, Thalassodromidae consists of the two species of
Tupuxuara (
T. longicristatus and
T. leonardii),
Thalassodromeus, and
Kariridraco. Both Thalassodromidae and Tapejaridae were found as sister taxa within Tapejaromorpha, corroborating the relationship between the two families.
Topology 1: Longrich and colleagues (2018). }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
Topology 2: Pêgas and colleagues (2023). }} }} }} }} }} }} }} == Paleobiology ==