Dsungaripterus
Dsungaripterus ("Wing of Junggar Basin") was a pterosaur with a wingspan of 10 feet (3 m). It had an unusual bony crest running along its snout and long, narrow, curved jaws with a pointed tip. The crest may have acted as a rudder when flying or may have been a secondary sex characteristic.
| Dsungaripterus Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous
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| Dsungaripterus weii | |
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| Genus: | Dsungaripterus Young, 1964
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Dsungaripterus's head and neck were together almost a metre long. Its most notable feature are its long, narrow, upcurved jaws with a pointed tip, making the animal look like a pair of flying tweezers. It had no teeth in the front part of its jaws, which were probably used to remove shellfish and worms from cracks in rocks or from sandy, muddy beaches. It had knobbly flat teeth more to the back of the jaw that were well suited for crushing shellfish.[1]
Dsungaripterus Media
Restoration of Dsungaripterus (above) and the related Noripterus
Holotype specimen, Paleozoological Museum of China
Skull IVPP V4064, Paleozoological Museum of China
Skeletal reconstruction of Dsungaripterus weii.
References
- ↑ Palmer D. (ed) 1999. The Marshall illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. London: Marshall Editions. p105 ISBN 1-84028-152-9