legend of dinosaurs & monster birds when dinosaurs ruled the earth

The largest known specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri (catalog number BMNH 37002) measures 1.26 meters (4.1 ft) long with a wingspan of 1.81 m (5.9 ft).Ĭontrary to a 1927 report by pterosaur researcher Ferdinand Broili, Rhamphorhynchus lacked any bony or soft tissue crest, as seen in several species of contemporary small pterodactyloid pterosaurs. Scattered teeth belived to belong to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in Portugal as well. Many of these fossils preserve not only the bones but impressions of soft tissues, such as wing membranes.

The jaws of Rhamphorhynchus housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth, indicating a diet mainly of fish indeed, fish and cephalopod remains are frequently found in Rhamphorhynchus stomachal contents, as well as coprolites.Īlthough fragmentary fossil remains possibly belonging to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in England, Tanzania, and Spain, the best preserved specimens come from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as Pterodactylus, it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic diamond-shaped vane.

Rhamphorhynchus ('beak snout') is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. A restoration of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri

Legend of dinosaurs & monster birds when dinosaurs ruled the earth