Anurognathus

Anurognathus ammoniacal chasing the butterfly -like lacewing Kalligramma haeckeli

• Eichstätt ( and others)

• Anurognathus ammoniacal Döderlein, 1923

Anurognathus ( " tail-less pine " ) is a genus of pterosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of southern Germany. The only known fossils of two species with its type species A. ammoniacal ( Döderlein, 1923) is one of the smallest discovered to date pterosaurs.

The finds

The holotype

For a long time Anurognathus by only one Fund announced a fragmentary, disarticulated ( ruined ) negative impression in the Solnhofen limestone of Eichstätt in Bavaria (early Untertithonium before about 150 million years ago). This piece (inventory number 1922 -i -42) - the holotype - is preserved in the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich.

The second fund

2002 SC Bennett described a second, much smaller but fully articulated and nearly preserved specimen, also from the Solnhofen limestone. Here impressions of the flight skin and residues of muscles can be seen. The approximately 55 percent of the size of the Erstfundes measured specimen is lying on the belly of the fuselage along with folded wings. Based on this finding, some misinterpretations of the holotype were correct, then the flight finger is not so extremely extended as adopted, is the short tail not the pygostyle of birds comparable.

Description

Anurognathus was a small, delicately built pterosaur with a skull length of 3 centimeters and a body length of 5 centimeters. Its wingspan was about 37 centimeters. The skull fitted with large windows was remarkably short and high with a triangular nostril ( naris ) and a large eye socket (orbit ) with a scleral ring ( before the second fund had an enlarged at the expense of one of the orbit Praeorbitalöffnung reconstructed ). The few pin-shaped teeth (8 in the upper jaw, 7 in the lower jaw, each jaw per half) were small, pointed and scarcely curved. This can dentition and the wide mouth suspect Anurognathus was an insectivore. He must have been a skilled pilot who began his prey in flight.

Another unusual feature is the rear tail formed. However Anurognathus is not a short-tailed pterosaurs, as it differs in other skeletal features from blueprint this group.