Cearadactylus
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| iCearadactylus |
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Cearadactylus atrox Leonardi et al., 1985 |
Cearadactylus (meaning "Ceara finger") was a large, mid-Cretaceous (Aptian) pterosaur. It had a wingspan of around 4 to 5.5 metres (13 to 18 feet), a long tail and a short neck. It weighed perhaps 15 kilograms. Unlike the larger pterosaurs (eg. Pteranodon), it probably flapped its wings for propelled flight in a manner similar to modern birds, as opposed to merely gliding on air currents. Its kinked upper jaw and its interlocking teeth suggest a marine diet (the interlocking allowing the animal to keep hold of slippery fish).
The type species is Cearadactylus atrox (named by Leonardi, G and Borgomanero, G in 1985). It was discovered on the Araripe plateau (Santana Formation) in northeastern Brazil and is known from a single skull.
[edit] Popular Culture
It was in the original Jurassic Park novel by Michael Crichton.
[edit] References
- Leonardi, G. & Borgomanero, G. 1985, "Cearadactylus atrox nov. gen., nov. sp.: novo Pterosauria (Pterodactyloidea) da Chapada do Araripe, Ceara, Brasil", Resumos dos communicaçoes VIII Congresso bras. de Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 1983, 27, 75–80.
- Unwin, D. M. 2002, "On the systematic relationships of Cearadactylus atrox, an enigmatic Early Cretaceous pterosaur from the Santana Formation of Brazil", Mitteilungen Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Geowissenschaftlichen Reihe, 5, 239-263.
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