Herbstosaurus

In Depth        It was once thought that Herbstosaurus represented one of the first pterosaurs of the more advanced Pterodactyloidea, however it is now realised that it recovered from a Vaca Muerta Formation which dated as being from the Tithonian. Herbstosaurus has continued to cause some disagreement between palaeontologists as to its exact position within the … Read more

Lonchognathosaurus

In Depth        Lonchognathosaurus had jaws that were typical of the dsungaripterid pterosaurs in that they were pointed and lacked teeth towards the front of the snout. It’s thought that pterosaurs like Lonchognathosaurus used this design to dig out invertebrates so that they can be crushed with the stout teeth towards the rear of the mouth. … Read more

Noripterus

In Depth        Noripterus appears to have been a scaled down version of the pterosaur Dsungaripterus complete with a more gracile build. However the discovery of a leg bone that was attributed to the new genus Phobetor in 1982 now casts doubts upon this. When studied again, along with further material attributed to Phobetor in 2009, … Read more

Germanodactylus

germanodactylus

Germanodactylus: Research Database Pterodactyloidea (Pterosauria) · Late Jurassic (~155-150 MYA) · Europe — Germany (Solnhofen Limestone)   Research Note: Germanodactylus was a pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of Germany — one of the earliest known pterodactyloids and an important taxon for understanding pterosaur evolution during the Jurassic period.   Research Finding Status Grade Year … Read more

Normannognathus

In Depth        Despite being known from only scant fossil material, Normannognathus seems to have been a dsungaripterid pterosaur, a group noted for specialising in shellfish. The teeth seem to have covered at least the entire front portion of the jaws with teeth being present in the tip, although it is unknown how far back they … Read more