Ctenochasma

Ctenochasma from the Solnhofen limestone

Fossil skull of a subadult C. elegans

Ctenochasma (meaning "comb jaw") is a genus of Upper Jurassic pterosaur of the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Their fossilized remains have been found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria,^[1] Germany, and a couple of other sites laid down in the late Jurassic period.

The teeth were a filter-feeding apparatus: the pterosaurs strained out algae or small invertebrates from stagnant tropical waters, as flamingoes do today. This kind of life is mirrored by another pterosaur genus, Pterodaustro, which had an active pumping mechanism to push water through its teeth.^[2]

Ctenochasma Media

Fossil specimen of a young juvenile C. elegans
Fossil specimen of a young juvenile C. elegans
Skeletal reconstruction of Ctenochasma elegans.

References

↑ von Meyer C.E.H. 1852. Ctenochasma Roemeri. Paläontographica, 2: 82–84 & pl. 13.
↑ Bennett S.C. 2007. A review of the pterosaur Ctenochasma: taxonomy and ontogeny. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 245 (1): 23–31.

[1] von Meyer C.E.H. 1852. Ctenochasma Roemeri. Paläontographica, 2: 82–84 & pl. 13.

[2] Bennett S.C. 2007. A review of the pterosaur Ctenochasma: taxonomy and ontogeny. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 245 (1): 23–31.

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