Plataleorhynchus
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Plataleorhynchus streptorophorodon Howse and Milner, 1995 |
Plataleorhynchus (meaning "Platalea [a spoonbill bird] snout", for its distinctive jaw) was a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Tithonian-Berriasian-age Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Limestone of Dorset, England. It is based on BMNH R.11957, an incomplete anterior upper jaw with teeth. This jaw is notable because it expands to form a circular, spatula-like shape at the front. The front portion of the skull had no bony crest. Although Plataleorhychus would have been similar in size to large gnathosaurs like Gnathosaurus (skull length at least 40 cm (15.75 in)), the different shape of its spoonbill, presence of an apparently horn-covered pad on the palate, and smaller teeth suggest it did not feed in the same way, perhaps stirring up water-dwelling animals from muddy or weedy environments.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Howse, S.C.B., and Milner, A.R. (1995). The pterodactyloids from the Purbeck Limestone Formation of Dorset. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London (Geology) 51(1):73-88.
[edit] External Links
- Plataleorhynchus in The Pterosaur Database
- Plataleorhynchus in The Pterosauria
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