Its generic name translates to “slender mouth”, and its specific name is a reference to the village of Hassi El Begaa near the Kem Kem Group in Morocco!
Please leave a favorite and follow if you want to see the rest of the alphabet!
Guidraco venator (gway-dray-koh ven-ate-or) was an #anhanguerid#pterosaur from the early Cretaceous of China. Its name refers to the Chinese term “gui”, meaning “ghost”, and the Latin word “draco” meaning “dragon”. Its specific name is the Latin word for “hunter”.
If you’d like to see more informative posts like this, please consider leaving a favorite and a comment! 😊
Dearc sgiathanach was a #rhamphorynchid found on the Isle of Skye in #Scotland, and described by Natalia Jagielska and Steve Brusatte. Its wingspan was estimated at about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), which was much bigger than the next biggest #pterosaurs at that time!
Feel free to favorite and reblog if you want to see more like this!
Here is Caelestiventus hanseni! One of the few #pterosaurs discovered from the #Triassic!
This definitely has one of the best names of any #pterosaur! Its generic name translates to “heavenly wind”, which is definitely up there with #Sordes and #Cryodrakon!
Here’s the baby #azhdarchid I made in November of 2022! (Inspired by the #bittern in the replies)
I still really like this piece because of how tightly I had the limbs fold up, I think it was a neat idea!
If you like exploratory posts like this, please consider favoriting and reblogging! It really means a lot!
Also maybe leave a comment! Feedback is always appreciated! 😊
Abstract: “The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in pterosaur evolution, witnessing the appearance of major morphological innovations that underpinned successive radiations by rhamphorhynchids, basally branching monofenestratans, and pterodactyloids. Frustratingly, this interval is particularly sparsely sampled, with a...
I apparently really like that Tupandactylus imperator sketch, because I’ve made two things from it! The one in the last image isn’t available on my Etsy store, but if you want one, or something similar, you can find others like it in said store (link in bio), or you can commission me directly via private post!
Any engagement really helps, so if you like things like this, please favorite and share it around! I’d really appreciate it!!
“Quick” Nyctosaurus Doodle Please leave a like if you enjoy this style! I’ve just started to understand how vertebrae look in 3D, and I have a LOT more to understand. To add more to the pile, pterosaur cervical vertebrae have unique joints, and it hurts my brain without physical sculpts or scans. If you have any info that might be helpful, please feel free to reach out! #nyctosaurus#pterosaur#rubberhose#taxidermy#vertebrae#anatomy#cartoon
Tom Hartman at the University of Nottingham has been experimenting with 3D-printing of fossils. Here's an attempt at a printed pterosaur skull, Parapsicephalus purdoni (GSM3166), one of many 3D scans of type specimens available from the British Geological Survey's GB3D type specimens project: https://www.3d-fossils.ac.uk
On this second day of #MegafaunaMay, our daily #megafauna is quetzelcoatlus. Named after the feathered serpent god of the Aztec religion, this gigantic #pterosaur lived during the late Cretaceous period in modern-day North America.
With a maximum weight over 500lbs and a wingspan over 30 feet wide, #quetzelcoatlus has inspired controversy over its flight capabilities. For some, its massive size sheds doubt on the idea that it ever flew, but aerodynamic models suggest that it was, in fact, the largest flying animal known to have existed. The towering pterosaur was originally thought to have flown like modern condors by soaring on thermal updrafts in the air. However, more recent research suggests that it instead has more in common with the kori bustard, using its strong wing muscles to complete short, low flights.
Even short flights are impressive from such a heavy animal, and the wings had to be very wide in order to allow them. In fact, quetzelcoatlus’s wingspan is so long that its folded wings touched the ground when it stood on its 6-foot tall legs. This gave the pterosaur a unique approach to walking: each wing had to be moved out of the way of its corresponding foot with each step it too.
Like other #pterosaurs, this species had hollow bones, so its fragile remains are rarer finds than those of contemporary dinosaurs such as the T-Rex. Skulls have given us many hints about quetzelcoatlus’s lifestyle: its large eye sockets suggest that had excellent eyesight; its beak suggests a diet of creatures skimmed out of the lakes near where its fossils have been found; and a bony crest on top of its head could potentially have been used for attracting mates or controlling flight. Although we do not have a complete skeleton of quetzelcoatlus, reconstructions and comparisons to modern species have allowed us to fill in the gaps.
A new pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland and the early diversification of flying reptiles (doi.org)
Abstract: “The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in pterosaur evolution, witnessing the appearance of major morphological innovations that underpinned successive radiations by rhamphorhynchids, basally branching monofenestratans, and pterodactyloids. Frustratingly, this interval is particularly sparsely sampled, with a...