Ctenochasmatoidea
Fossil of Ctenochasma elegans
- Worldwide
The Ctenochasmatoidea are a group of small to medium-sized, short-tailed pterosaurs that occurred worldwide from the Lower Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous.
Features
Their characteristic feature is the elongated front rounded snout, in which a Reuse bite was at the more advanced Ctenochasmatidae, which consisted of numerous, seated on the jaw edges long teeth. They sought their food probably wading in shallow areas of rivers and lakes.
The evolutionary trend resulted from the simple, yet little modified form Pterodactylus an extension of the neck, the snout and at the Ctenochasmatinae to an increase in ever thinner teeth and had finally reached the Argentine Pterodaustro its peak, the needle- thin over a sifter of over 1000, long teeth possessed and must be fed on plankton, which he seventh much like modern flamingos out of the water.
In contrast, the Gnathosaurinae stayed with larger teeth and seem to have caught larger prey. The extension of the neck is achieved by the extension of the neck vertebrae, not by the gain, similar to the later Azhdarchiden.
Inside systematics
- Ctenochasmatoidea Cycnorhamphus
- Feilongus
- Pterodactyl
- Unwindia
- Ctenochasmatidae Elanodactylus
- Gegepterus
- Ctenochasmatinae Beipiaopterus
- Ctenochasma
- Eosipterus
- Pterodaustro
- Cearadactylus
- Gnathosaurus
- Huanhepterus
- Plataleorhynchus
- " Pterodactyl " longicollum
Swell
- David M. Unwin: The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time. PI Press, New York, 2006, ISBN 0 - 13-146308 -X
- Peter Wellhofer: pterosaurs. Mosaic, Wittenberg 1980. ISSN 0138-1423