European nightjar [SEP] parent taxon
European nightjar
The European nightjar ("Caprimulgus europaeus"), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and temperate Asia. The Latin generic name refers to the old myth that the nocturnal nightjar suckled goats, causing them to cease to give milk. The six subspecies differ clinally, the birds becoming smaller and paler towards the east of the range. All populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. Their densely patterned
were present on the snout.
Classification.
"Anurognathus" was assigned by Oskar Kuhn to the family Anurognathidae in 1937. In the modern clade Anurognathidae, "Anurognathus" is the sister taxon of the clade Batrachognathinae, which contains the species "Batrachognathus", "Dendrorhynchoides" and "Jeholopterus".
Paleobiology.
According to Döderlein "Anurognathus" was, with its long wings, a swift flyer, surprising its prey, similar to the modern nightjar. Bennett, however, infers from the discovery of the