Rhamphinion
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Rhamphinion jenkinsi Padian, 1984 |
Rhamphinion (meaning "beak nape"; "beak" is a common part of rhamphorhynchoid names, and the remains of this animal came from the rear of the skull, i.e. "nape") was a genus of pterosaur from the Sinemurian-mid Pliensbachian-age Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona, USA. It is based on MNA V 4500, a partial skull including the occipital region, a partial left jugal, a fragment of the lower jaw including two preserved teeth and the impression of a third, and other fragments. At the time, it was the oldest known pterosaur specimen from the Western Hemisphere. Kevin Padian, who described it, did not assign it to any family or suborder within Pterosauria, but did note that the jugal was unlike that of pterodactyloids, and so may have belonged to a rhamphorhynchoid. A bone from the wing of another pterosaur from the same formation may have also belonged to a rhamphorhynchoid, with a wingspan of about 1.5 m (4.92 ft).[1] Peter Wellnhofer agreed that a rhamphorhynchid identity was very likely,[2] but David Unwin was more hesistant to classify its fragmentary remains in The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time, noting it only as a "possibly valid species of uncertain relationships."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Padian, K. (1984). Pterosaur remains from the Kayenta Formation (?early Jurassic) of Arizona. Palaeontology 27(2):407-413. [if you get an I/O error message, push "OK" and it should work]
- ^ Wellnhofer, P. (1996). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. Barnes and Noble Books:New York, p. 78. ISBN 0-7607-0154-7.
- ^ Unwin, D.M. (2006). The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time. Pi Press:New York, p. 273. ISBN 0-13-146308-X.
[edit] External Links
- Rhamphinion in The Pterosaur Database
- Rhamphinion in The Pterosauria
