Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
Fig 17
Diversity curve showing taxic (raw) diversity and phylogenetic (with ghost lineages) diversity of pterosaurs over time (millions of years ago [MYA]).
Late Cretaceous taxic diversity remains relatively steady up to the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary following the mid-Cretaceous diversity drop. The slight decrease in phylogenetic diversity in the Late Cretaceous is the expected result of the Signor-Lipps Effect: ghost taxa cannot be inferred for the Late Maastrichtian because no post-Cretaceous pterosaurs exist to create ghost lineages; here phylogenetic diversity equals taxic diversity. Abbreviations: Tr-J, Triassic-Jurassic; J-K, Jurassic-Cretaceous.