Ludodactylus
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Ludodactylus sibbicki Frey et al., 2003 |
Ludodactylus (meaning "play finger", referring to the fact that, like many toy pterosaurs, it combined teeth with a Pteranodon-like head crest) was a genus of ornithocheirid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-ageLower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Ceará, Brazil. It is based on SMNK PAL 3828, a skull missing part of the head crest. Unlike other ornithocheirids, it had no premaxillary crest, but did have a crest at the back of the skull. Trapped between the mandibles is a yucca leaf; apparently the animal got it caught in its beak and unsuccessfully tried to dislodge it (the edge of the leaf is frayed), and then possibly died from starvation or a complication of starving. Its size is not known, but the skull would have been more than 66 cm (26 in) long.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Frey, E., Martill, D., and Buchy, M. (2003). A new crested ornithocheirid from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil and the unusual death of an unusual pterosaur. In: Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.-M. (eds.). Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society Special Publication 217:56-63. ISBN 1-86239-143-2.
[edit] External Links
- Ludodactylus in The Pterosaur Database
- Ludodactylus in The Pterosauria
- Illustration of the skull at The Grave Yard
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