Aerodactylus
|
Aerodactylus Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 150.8–148.5 Ma |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Aurorazhdarchidae |
| Genus: |
†Aerodactylus Vidovic & Martill, 2014 |
| Type species | |
|
†Pterodactylus scolopaciceps Meyer, 1860 |
|
| Species | |
|
†Aerodactylus scolopaciceps |
|
†Aerodactylus scolopaciceps
(Meyer, 1860)
Aerodactylus (meaning "wind finger") is a genus of pterosaurs containing a single species, Aerodactylus scolopaciceps, previously regarded as a species of Pterodactylus.
The fossil remains of this species have been found only in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, dated to the late Jurassic Period (early Tithonian), about 150.8–148.5 million years ago. Like all pterosaurs, the wings of Aerodactylus were formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. Several well preserved fossils have shown that Aerodactylus was covered in a short, dense coat of bristly pycnofibres, and that it had a rounded triangular crest on its head, as well as a backward-pointing lappet. It is named after the Pokémon, Aerodactyl.
Aerodactylus is known from six fossil specimens, and though all of them are juveniles, all preserve complete skeletons. The discovery of several specimens with well-preserved soft tissue traces has allowed scientists to faithfully reconstruct the life appearance of Aerodactylus.
The skulls of Aerodactylus were long and narrow with about 64 teeth which were more crowded towards the jaw tips. The teeth extended back from the tips of both jaws, and the tooth row ended before the front of the nasoantorbital fenestra, the largest opening in the skull. Unlike some related species, the skull and upper jaw was curved slightly upward, not straight. A small, hooked beak was present in the very tips of the jaws, with both upper and lower hook no larger than the teeth that surrounded them.
The neck was long, and covered in long, bristle-like pycnofibres. A throat pouch extended from about the middle of the lower jaw to the upper part of the neck.
...
Wikipedia