Germanodactylus

Germanodactylus rhamphastinus

• Solnhofen, Bavaria
• Jurassic Coast, England

Germanodactylus ( " German finger " ) is a genus of short-tailed pterosaurs from the Upper Jurassic. The genus was erected in 1964 by the Chinese paleontologist C. C. Young ( actually Yang Zhongjian ) described for an originally by Carl Wiman as a pterodactyl cristatus ( " pterodactyl with a comb" ) fossil.

Two species have been described: Germanodactylus cristatus from the Solnhofen limestone and Germanodactylus rhamphastinus, which was found in stratigraphically younger rocks in the area of the Swabian community Daiting. In addition, vortex, Ellen, spokes, tibia and fibula, and some phalanges of the flight bone Germanodactylus be assigned, which were found in south-west England in Kimmeridge on the Jurassic Coast. The finds in England are geologically older than the Bavarian fossils and thus the oldest remains of short-tailed pterodactyls at all.

G. cristatus had a wingspan of 98 centimeters, his skull was 13 centimeters long. G. rhamphastinus was greater, with a 21 -centimeter-long skull and a wingspan of 108 centimeters. Typical of Germanodactylus is a low bone crest in the middle of the skull, which begins above the nostrils and above the eyes (G. cristatus ) or rear ( G. rhamphastinus ) ends. The animals had vigorous but relatively short teeth. The tip of the snout was toothless and possibly ended up in a horny beak.