Pterodactylus cristatus
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Germanodactylus Temporal range: Late Jurassic |
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| Fossil specimen of G. cristatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Germanodactylidae |
| Genus: |
†Germanodactylus Yang, 1964 |
| Type species | |
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†Germanodactylus cristatus (Wiman, 1925) (originally Pterodactylus) |
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| Species | |
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†G. cristatus (Wiman, 1925) (originally Pterodactylus) |
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†G. cristatus (Wiman, 1925) (originally Pterodactylus)
Germanodactylus ("German finger") is a genus of dsungaripteroid pterodactyloid pterosaur from Late Jurassic-age rocks of Germany, including the Solnhofen limestone. Its specimens were long thought to pertain to Pterodactylus. Its head crest is a distinctive feature.
Germanodactylus is described as being "raven-sized" in weight.G. cristatus had a 0.98 wingspan (3.2 ft) and a 13 centimeter long (5.1 in) skull, while G. rhamphastinus was somewhat larger, with a 1.08 meter wingspan (3.5 ft) and a skull 21 centimeters long (8.3 in).
Germanodactylus is known for its head crest, which had a bony portion (a low ridge running up the midline of the skull) and a soft-tissue portion that more than doubled its height. The bony part does not go as far up the head in G. cristatus as in G. rhamphastinus. The soft-tissue portion was not known early on, being first described in 2002 by S. Christopher Bennett. It was probably composed of cornified epidermis. Germanodactylus is the first genus for which a soft-tissue component of the crest is known, but similar structures were probably widespread among pterosaurs. Head crests like these are now known to be far more extensive in Pterosauria. Of pterosaurs known to date, the most basal form with such a crest is Austriadactylus and the most derived are Hamipterus and Tapejara. Darwinopterus and Cuspicephalus also possesses headcrests made of "fibrous" bone, demonstrating that the character is a homology, and not a homoplasy.
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