Djungaripterus
| Djungaripterus | ||||||||||||
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Dsungaripterus weii , skeletal reconstruction |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous | ||||||||||||
| 157.3 to 133.9 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Djungaripterus | ||||||||||||
| Young , 1964 |
Dsungaripterus was a genus of pterosaurs . It is classified within the Dsungaripteridae , a group of the short-tailed pterosaurs (Pterodactyloidea).
So far, two species have been described - the type species Dsungaripterus weii from the Lower Cretaceous in China and Dsungaripterus brancai from the Upper Jurassic of Tanzania .
Dsungaripterus weii achieved a wingspan of 3.5 meters and a skull length of 50 centimeters. The genus wore a skull crest that ran from the middle of the beak to the level of the eyes. There was a short bony extension at the back of the head. The eye sockets are comparatively small and sit high. The upturned, toothless tip of the beak is reminiscent of large tweezers. Blunt, button-like teeth sat in the back beak.
Similar to birds, some thoracic vertebrae in Dsungaripterus are fused to form the notary and the posterior thoracic and lumbar vertebrae to the synsacrum. The tibiotarsus also resembles that of birds.
The animal may have used its pointed beak to dig into sand, mud, and crevices for worms and crustaceans that it might have grinded with its teeth.
swell
- Peter Wellnhofer : The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. Crescent Books, New York NY 1991, ISBN 0-517-03701-7 .
- Peter M. Galton : Avian-like tibiotarsi of pterodactyloids (Reptilia: Pterosauria) from the Upper Jurassic of East Africa. In: Paleontological Journal . Vol. 54, No. 3/4, 1980, pp. 331-342, doi : 10.1007 / BF02988135 .
- Dsungaripterus weii at The Pterosaur Database (PDF; 82 kB).
