Dsungaripterus

Dsungaripterus weii, skeletal reconstruction

• Xinjiang, China ( Junggar Basin)
• Tanzania, East Africa

Dsungaripterus was a genus of pterosaurs. It is classified within the Dsungaripteridae, a group of short-tailed pterosaurs ( Pterodactyloidea ).

So far, two species have been described - the type species Dsungaripterus weii from the Lower Cretaceous of China and Dsungaripterus brancai from the Upper Jurassic of Tanzania.

Dsungaripterus weii reached a wingspan of 3.5 meters and a skull length of 50 centimeters. The genus was wearing a skull ridge that ran from the middle of the beak to the level of the eyes. On the back was a short bony appendage. The eye sockets are comparatively small and sit high. The upturned toothless tip of the beak reminiscent of a large pair of tweezers. In the back sat beak blunt, knob-like teeth.

Similar to birds, some thoracic vertebrae to Notarium and the rear thoracic vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae are fused to Synsacrum at Dsungaripterus. Also the tibiotarsus similar to that of birds.

The animal may be dug with its pointed beak in sand, mud and rock crevices for worms and crustaceans, which he could have crushes with his teeth.

Swell

• Peter Wellhofer: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. Crescent Books, New York 1991. ISBN 0-517-03701-7
• Peter M. Galton: Avian -like tibiotarsi of pterodactyloids ( Reptilia: Pterosauria ) from the Upper Jurassic of East Africa. Paleontological Journal, Volume 54, Numbers 3-4 / December 1980 online
• Dsungaripteridae at Dino Data (in English)