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Home , Anurognathus, Dimorphodon, Eudimorphodon, Gnathosaurus, Nyctosaurus, Pteranodon

Rulers of the Prehistoric Skies Educator Resource Guide

Arizona Museum of Natural History 53 N. Macdonald Street Mesa, AZ 85201

Table of Contents

3. Goals For Visit 4. Vocabulary Words 5. Telling Geologic Time 6. What is a 7. Evolution of 8. Chart 9. / Bone Comparison 10. Pterosaur Ontogeny 11. Era 12. Sharovipteryx 13. Icarosaurus siefkeri 14. Rhamphorhynchoids 15. 16. macronyx 17. Libellulium longilatum 18. Pterodactylus 19. 20. lithographica 21. Pterodactyloids 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. Ptweety baby Pteranodon 27. Pterosaur match 28. Pterosaur fossil match answer sheet 29. , Teeth and Ridges Worksheet 30. Beaks, Teeth and Ridges –Pterosaur and Diversity 31. Beaks, Teeth and Ridges – Pterosaur and Bird Diversity answers 32. Rulers of the Prehistoric Sky Word Find 33. Pterosaur puppet 34. Pterosaur coloring page 35. Pterosaur coloring page 2

GOALS FOR VISIT G To help understand the on earth through the study of prehistoric .

To understand the place of the in the Age of

Students Will Understand That: U Essential Questions Q The prehistoric world of Mesozic Era was very different What is a pterosaur? from our own. What happened to the pterosaurs? Not everything that lived during the Mesozoic Era were Were pterosaurs dinosaurs? dinosaurs. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles, not dinosuars

Students Will Know: K Vocabulary V What a fossil is. evidence paleontologist How a fossil is formed. extinct predator How paleontologist use scientific inquiry to study . fossil pterosaur hypothesis retile Mesozoic Era scavenger

Learning Plan L Pterosaur fossil match Beaks, Teeth and Ridges – Pterosaur and Bird Diversity Worksheet Beaks, Teeth and Ridges – Pterosaur and Bird Diversity Questions Rulers of the Prehistoric Sky Word Find Pterosaur Finger Puppet Pterosaur Coloring Sheets

Supports the Following State Standards SS Science Strand 1 The Inquiry Process Concepts 1, 2, 3, 4 Strand 2 The History and of Science, Concept 1 Strand 4 Life Science, Concepts 1, 2, 3, 4 Strand 6 Earth and Space Science, Concept 1

Vocabulary Words

Evidence Something that can be shown to support a proposed idea. In paleontology, the evidence is often from fossils, but important forms of evidence can also come from other sources, such as the study of genetics and the study of living .

Extinct To have died out, no longer existing.

Fossil The preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived in the past.

Hypothesis A hypothesis is a temporary conclusion used to explain certain facts.

Mesozoic Era The time period between 248 million ago and 65 million years ago was called the Mesozoic Era. It is divided into three periods: the , and .

Paleontologist A scientist who specializes in paleontology.

Paleontology The study of plant and life in past geologic times, based on fossil remains, their relationships to existing organisms and environments, and their importance to the earth’s history.

Predator An organism that exists by catching and feeding upon other organisms

Pterosaur An of reptiles that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. They were the first to fly.

Reptile A cold blooded that uses to breathe, has an external covering of scales and usually lays eggs.

Scavenger An organism that feeds on garbage and dead creatures.

What is a Pterosaur

Pterosaurs, whose name means “winged lizard” were an order of reptiles that lived with the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, and went extinct during the K‐T , around 65 MYA. Among them were the largest animals that ever flew and they ruled the prehistoric skies for 150 million years.

Uncontested in the air, pterosaurs colonized all continents and evolved into a vast array of shapes and sizes. Of the 120 named the smallest pterosaur was no bigger than a sparrow and the largest had a of nearly 40 feet, wider than an F‐16 fighter plane.

There were two suborders, Rhamphorhynchoids, now called primitive pterosaurs, and Pterodactyloids. The earliest known Pterosaur appeared about 220 million years ago during the . They were the earliest vertebrates to have evolved powered flight, although they were not the first flying animals. There were that could fly long before pterosaurs appeared.

The first group of primitive pterosaurs was the rhamphorhynchoids (ram for rink choids). They remained the only vertebrate fliers for over 65 million years and eventually diversified into a variety of forms and niches. By the the rhamphorhynchoids had been pretty much replaced by the more advanced pterodactyloids. Early species had long fully toothed jaws and bony tails while later forms had a much shorter tail and some lacked teeth.

The first pterosaur fossils were described in 1784 by the Italian naturalist Cosimo Collini, who misinterpreted his specimen as a seagoing creature that used its long front limbs as paddles. It was first suggested that pterosaurs were flying creatures by in 1801. Pterosaur fossils have been found on every continent.

The of pterosaurs was highly modified from their reptilian ancestors for the demands of flight. They had hollow bones, were lightly built, and had small bodies. Pterosaurs had large and good eyesight. Most of pterosaur had elongated like jaws. Some advanced forms were toothless, although most had a full complement of teeth. Pterosaurs are well known for their often elaborate crests. They did not have but fossils suggest some may have had a of fur made up of hairlike filaments known as pyncofibers.

They could fly long distances using large light weight covered in a leathery membrane. This thin but tough membrane stretched between the outside of the legs and to the elongated fourth , forming the structure of the wing. Claws protruded from the other fingers. They could their wings and fly, but the larger ones such as Quetzalcoatlus probably relied o n updrafts (rising warm air) and breezes to help fly. When on the ground, the more primitive pterosaurs would have had a difficult time moving. They had a large rear membrane that shackled their rear legs, making walking almost impossible. The shape of the upper legs and indicates they could not walk upright. They also had long claws on their feet and they were most likely more at home in trees or on a rocky cliff when not in the air.

By contrast, the pterodactlyoids were quite comfortable on the ground as indicated by the amount of footprints in the fossil record. The large membrane had split, freeing the legs to be brought under the body. This allowed them to walk much more easily, which in turn enabled them to diversify and move into new environments.

Pterosaurs were carnivores and ate they caught at the surface of the oceans. Others ate mollusks, crabs, perhaps for some species, insects and scavenged large animals on land.

Pterosaurs are often referred to in the popular media as dinosaurs but this is wrong. The term “” is properly restricted to a certain group of reptiles with an upright stance and therefore excludes the pterosaurs as well as the various groups of extinct marine reptiles, such as the plesiosaurs and .

Birds did not descend from pterosaurs but from small feathered land bound dinosaurs.

Evolution of Flight

At no other time in the history of life has there been an animal like the pterosaur. They first appear in the fossil record during the late Triassic, about 220 million years ago. The first scientists to discover a pterosaur fossil thought it was a swimmer, because of its webbed appendages. There are two theories surrounding its ancestry. The first theory states that pterosaurs evolved from terrestrial reptiles that spread their for balance while running. The second theory states that pterosaurs evolved from an arboreal . Like a , this reptile learned to navigate its environment by jumping, and eventually flying from tree to tree.

Either way, pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve flight and they did it in a way that was all their own. The mechanics of pterosaur flight are not perfectly understood by paleontologists. Pterosaurs achieved powered flight, in that flight was sustained, however the mechanical details are not completely understood by paleontologists.

The pterosaur wing has been the source of fascination and debate among paleontologists. The pterosaur wing was a membrane that consisted of three sections: the brachiopatagium, the uropatagium, and the propatagium. The membranous wing was extremely flexible and could stretch to change shape during flight to adjust to air flow, a process called passive cambering. There are a handful of pterosaur fossils in which parts of this membrane are preserved. When examined under a special light, fibers that criss‐cross and intricate patterns of blood vessels are visible. However, the majority of information about pterosaur flight has been gleaned from pterosaur .

Pterosaur skeletons had features that made their way of flight unique. First, pterosaurs had a bone called the pteroid bone. This bone originated in the wrist and pointed towards the shoulder. Its purpose was to support the section of the “forewing”, called the propatagium. Some paleontologists think this bone pointed forward during flight, which broadened this section of the wing, increasing lift during flight. Pterosaurs also had an elongated pinky bone. This pinky bone was several feet long in some pterosaurs and it supported the largest part of the wing membrane, the brachiopatagium. These features combined to make pterosaurs apt flyers.

Other vertebrate flyers alive today achieved flight through means different than the pterosaurs. are also capable of powered flight. Bats boast 1,000 different species and the title of being the only capable of flight. Their wings are membranes, similar to the pterosaurs. However, unlike the pterosaurs, bats have sections of membranous wing stretched between each of their long, downward‐pointing “fingers”.

Birds are the only other vertebrate group to have ever achieved powered flight. Unlike bats and pterosaurs, bird wings are not membranous. Instead, they consist of muscular arms from which extend dozens of feathers which act to steer and lift the bird during flight. The first birds are found in the fossil record during the late Jurassic, about 140 million years ago. Archaeopteryx is widely regarded as the earliest feathered flyer. It was about the size of a pigeon and in many ways more closely resembled a dinosaur than a bird. Its features, including claws, a long bony tail and teeth, caused Archaeopteryx to be originally described as a theropod dinosaur. However Archaeopteryx had fully functional feathers and wings, qualifying it as the earliest bird. Its relationship to modern birds is still being debated. So although pterosaurs look more like dinosaurs and existed at the same time as many of the best‐known dinosaurs, they were not as closely related to the dinosaurs as modern birds.

Pterosaurs were successful and able flyers and the first vertebrate flyers to have ever existed. The largest flyer of all time, the Quetzalcoatlus, is a pterosaur. Additionally, pterosaurs’ fossil record stretches 150 million years, which is about the same amount of time that birds have existed. Lastly, pterosaurs were highly specialized depending upon their ecological niche.

The fossil record is scant and so the story of the pterosaurs remains incomplete. Everything that is understood about pterosaurs is the product of the examination of the relatively few fossils worldwide along with foot prints and partial skeletons. This branch of paleontology is an exciting one, in which creativity and a unique perspective are just as important as diligence and scientific knowledge. Flight is one of the greatest achievements of life on earth and the first vertebrate flyers, pterosaurs, are equally impressive and awe‐inspiring.

Pterosaur Ontogeny

Ontogeny is the study of the development of an organism throughout its life. Unlike evolution, which is concerned with the change of a species over generations, ontogeny is the development of a species over its lifespan. For example, the rate at which a dog’s head grows compared to the rest of its body is not constant throughout its life. In the beginning of a dog’s life, the head is large compared to its body size. Eventually, the head is proportionate to its body. When studying fossils, ontogeny can give important clues to the lives of extinct animals. Ontogeny can lead to clues about parental care, mating behaviors and environmental pressures such as predators.

One pterosaur study that revealed clues about the lives of pterosaurs concentrated on the growth of beaks in Pteranodon. Paleontologists found that Pteranodon beak size maintained the same proportions throughout different stages of its life. This might indicate that these pterosaurs could eat and hunt relatively soon after hatching. This, in turn, might mean they were independent hunters from a young age. In comparison, some modern birds are unable to hunt on their own as hatchlings, relying on their mothers to either bring them food or to swallow and regurgitate food that is easier for them to eat.

However, ontogeny studies don’t always provide conclusive evidence. Some paleontologists found that another pterosaur had highly‐developed wings at a young age, which meant they could fly independently almost as soon as they hatched. Yet, these pterosaurs, , exhibited growth for years after they were fully capable of flying. Why would the wings keep getting bigger in comparison to body size if they were already fully functional?

These studies can be as informative as they can be challenging to interpret. Ontogeny is a useful and informative lens through which paleontologists can not only discover new insights into the lives of pterosaurs, but it can also generate even more questions.

Mesozoic Era

The climate of the Mesozoic Era was generally warmer and more tropical than what we experience on Earth today. The seasons were milder, sea levels were higher and there was no polar ice. The polar regions had seasonal climates with windswept forests during the winter and cool damp rainforests during the summer. Greenhouse conditions existed and there could have been high levels of carbon dioxide in the air.

For most of the time the pterosaurs lived, a great northern continent, , and a great southern continent, Godwana, existed. These two were connected into a super continent called Pangea. Pangea altered global climate and ocean circulation. At the beginning of the Jurassic Period, most of the continents were still joined together until the Atlantic Ocean began to form and the Americas started to separate from Africa. As the Mesozoic Era progressed, the continents began to drift away from each other.

During this same time, large parts of Arizona, Colorado and Utah were desert. However, at different times, shallow seas covered low‐lying landmasses, including much of present day Arizona. During the Period a shallow sea, the , separated east and west .

The sounds of today’s rain forests ‐ thunder and falling rain, and the feel and smell of the wet ground may have been very similar to the greenhouse world the pterosaurs would have experienced during the Mesozoic Era. Sharovipteryx

Middle to Late Triassic 230 to 225 million years ago

Pronounced shah‐roe‐VIP‐teh‐rix, Sharovipteryx was an early gliding reptile from the woodlands of central Asia. It was named after Alexander Sharvo, the paleontologist who found in the Madygen Formation of Kyrgyzstan in 1965. A slender, lizard like creature with short arms, long legs and a very long tail, it was about 8 inches long and weighed about a pound. Sharovipteryx was probably an . It was bipedal, most likely spending a fair amount of time waking, judging by its long legs. It appear too short for quadrupedal walking or climbing.

It may have been closely related or even ancestral to pterosaurs, although this remains controversial. It is the oldest known animal known to have a gliding membrane attached to its limbs, a trait which would later evolve into the vertebrate aerialists, such as the pterosaurss and later, bats. However, while pterosaurs and bats expanded their arms and fingers to support their wings, Sharovipteryx is the only known animal to have evolved hind based wings. It has been suggested that a smaller membrane around its sides and/or forelimbs may have been present.

Given its overall appearance, specifically the long tail and membranes attached to its hind and possibly front limbs, it would be tempting to think that Sharovipteryx was at the root of pterosaur evolution. However, this is a far from universally accepted conclusion. As an example, Sharovipteryx, an , was not capable oof powered flight, but could only glide from tree to tree. This is an adaption that has arisen numerous times in the animal kingdom, and not just among reptiles. Examples of this are the flying squirrel and sugar gliders.

Some paleontologists think it may have been a leaping animal, springing up into the air and then control its fall with its wings. This idea gives credennce to the belief that pterosaurs evolved from running, leaping ancestor. Others suggest Sharovipteryx ran up trees on its sharply clawed rear legs and then spring into the air.

Artist rendition of Sharovipteryx courtesy of dinosaurs.about.com

Icarosaurus siefkeri Late Triassic 230 to 200 milllion years ago

Icarosaurus siefkeri was a hummingbird sized gliding reptile of the late Jurassic North America. Pronounced ICK‐ah‐roe‐SORE‐us, the name is Greek for “Icarus lizard” and was named for Icarus, the figure of Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun on his artificial wings.

This tiny butterfly like reptile was about 4 to 7 inches long had a wingspan of about 10” and weighed about 2 to 3 ounces. Icarosaurus lived in the woodlands of eastern North America during the Triassic period and its diet probably consisted of insects and other small animals.

The fossil was discovered by three teenage boys about 50 years ago in a New Jersey quarry, in what is the Lockatong Formation. One of the boys, Alfred Siefker, took the fossil to the American Museum of Natural History where it could be cleaned and studied. The fossil was a rare find, a one‐of‐a‐kind, a small delicate and nearly coomplete .

Studies of the specimen revealed a specialized anatomy that pushed the origin of winged vertebrates back by about one million years. Icarosaurus had elongated ribs which supported a thin membrane that enabled the reptile to glide from tree to tree, much like the modern day Draco lizard from Indonesia does today. Icarosaurus and the living flying , Draco volans, are excellent examples of , in which relatively unrelated organisms under similar selective pressures independently evolve similar characteristics, in this case, extended ribs to support a gliding membrane.

Like modern reptiles, Icarosaurus was not capable of powered flight. The membranous “wings” were covered in skin, the upper surface was convex and the lower surface concave. This created a simple airfoil structure well suited to gliding.

Icarosaurus was closely related to the contemporary European Kuehneosaurus and the earlier Coelurosaurus and was only distantly related to the pterosaurs. Although Icaroosaurus was gliding around prehistoric New Jersey before the earliest pterosaur and 80 million years before birds took to the air. This tiny reptile had gone extinct by the start of the Jurassic period.

Image courtesy of American Museum of Natural History Image courtesy of dinosaurs.about.com “Rhamphorhynchoids”

Late Triassic 220 MYA to Late Jurassic 160 MYA

Primitive pterosaurs, once called “Rhamphorhynchoids” (ram for rink choids), whose name means “prow beaks”, were the earliest type of pterosaurs, appearing in the Triassic period and became extinct at the end of the Jurassic. These were the first flying vertebrates.

Paleontologists are increasingly reluctant to use the name “Rhamphorhynchoids” because the differentiation between the two types of pterosaurs is not as clear cut as once thought. For example, one creature, Darwinopterus, had a rhamphorhynchiod tail but a pterodactyl head.

Rhamphorhynchoids are characterized by their large skulls, long tails, short necks and long narrow wings. The itself made up more than 50% of the animal’s overall body size. These skulls have numerous openings, including a separate opening located between the eye sockets. This third opening may have helped reduce the weight of the large skull. The skull rests on a short neck with seven vertebrae. The crest was also smaller.

The jaws of these primitive pterosaurs had teeth that were multi‐cusped and often had different kinds of teeth. The shape of the teeth varies from type to type, indicating different diets and feeding habits.

The long tail had up to forty vertebrae and was cross‐braced and stiffened by a system of tendons. Many species had a diamond shaped flap of skin at the tip of their long, pointed tail. The function of the tail remains unclear, it certainly helped it steer once airborne but it may also have helped in counterbalancing the weight of the skull when the animal was on the ground.

The wing membrane, as in all pterosaurs, stretched from its elongated fourth finger. “Rhamphorhynchoids” likely flapped their wings to fly.

Some examples of “Rhamphoroynchoids” are Dimorphodon, Rhamphorhynchus, Anurognathus and Eudimorphodon. These creatures ruled the skies for 65 million years and over that time period diversified into a variety of forms and niches.

Image courtesy of www.prehistory.com Eudimorphodon

Late Triassic, 210‐203 MYA

Eudimorphodon, pronounced YOU‐die‐MORE‐fo‐don, was discovered in 1973 near Bergamo, Italy. The nearly complete skeleton was found in shale from the Late Jurassic, making it one of the oldest pterosaurs then known. Belonging to the suborder of pterosaurs known as rhamphorhynchoids, this small creature lived along the shores of Western .

Eudimorphodon had a wing‐span of 2 to 3 feet and had the characteristic wing structure of all pterosaurs, with forelimbs embedded in an extended flap of skin. Based on the structure of its breastbone, paleontologists believe it may have been able to flap its primitive wings.

It also had a long bony tail that may have had a diamond shaped flap similar to the later Rhamphorhynchus. If so, the flap would have helped to steer and adjust its course in mid‐air.

The name Eudimorphodon comes from ancient Greece and means “true dimorphic teeth. It had a mouthful of densely packed teeth packed into a jaw only 6 centimeters long. The front of the jaw was filled with fangs, 4 on each side of the top jaw and 2 on each side of the bottom jaw. Right behind these fangs was a line of smaller multi‐pointed teeth, with 25 in the upper jaw and 26 in the lower jaw.

The shape of teeth indicate a piscivorous (fish) diet, confirmed by preserved contents containing the remains of fish. Wear along the side of the teeth suggests the creature may have also fed on hard‐shelled invertebrates. Young Eudimorphodon had slightly different shaped teeth and may have had a more insectivorous diet.

Though not as well known as Pteranodon or Rhamphorhynchus, Eudimorphodon holds an important spot in paleontology as one of the earliest of all pterosaurs.

Image courtesy of dinosaurs.about.com Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Dimorphodon macronyx Middle to Late Jurassic 175 to 160 MYA

Dimorphodon macronyx was a rhamphorhynchoid or priimitive pterosaur that lived along the shores of Europe and Central America. Named by Richaard Owen in 1850, its name is Greek for “two‐formed tooth” and is pronounced die‐MORE‐for‐don. The macronyx refers to the large claws on the forelimbs. Found relatively early in the palleontological history in 1828 at Lyme Regent in by .

Early paleontologists disagreed about whether it was a terrestrial four footed reptile while other speculated it may have run on two legs. It took years for naturalists to realize they were dealing with a flying retile.

Dimorphodon had a wing span of four feet and weighed about five pounds. It had a large head which is much larger than other pterosaurs with a ‐like beak. The beak had two distinct types of teeth. Each jaw had four or five fang‐like teeth followed by thirty or so smaller teeth. The larger front teeth were possibly used to snag fish and the shorteer ones in the back for grinding them up. The general conclusion is that its diet was primarily fish, although there is some evidence that it could have eaten insects.

Dimorphodon had a short but strong and flexible neck and a long thhin tail with a triangular shaped flap of skin at the tip. Its legs were sprawled out to the side, a leg form not yet found in any other pterosaur. It is evident it would have spent most of its non‐flying time hanging from branches or clinging to rocky ledge with the claw of the toe. It would have been able well with its large and light‐weight wings. The long thin tail would have helped stabilize its flight.

Image courtesy of dinosaurs.about.com Phootograph courtesy of wiki‐pedia.org

Libellulium longilatum Late Jurassic period 150 million years ago

Libellulium longilatum was a large ancient dragonfly that lived in Europe duringg the Early of the late Jurassic period. It was named in 1837 and is recognized by its large powerful wings. Libellulium longilatum’s body was about 57mm and had a wing span of 145mm.

Dragonflies first appeared during the Early Periiod, about 250 million years ago. They have not changed much over the eons, making them one of the oldeest and most successful living groups of insects.

Dragonflies, along with damselflies, belong to the Order Odonata. This group of insects have small antennae, long, slender abdomens and large membranous wings, Dragonflies cannot fold their wings against their bodies, unlike most other types of . The insect’s main sensory organs are their large compound eyes, which are made up of nearly 28,000 individual elements. Although their six legs are not very useful for walking, they are veryy effective for perching and for capturing prey. Adult dragonflies are excellent flierss and feed on a variety of insects. The larval portion of their life is spent in freshwater.

Fossils of this insect have been found in the Solenhofen Limestone, near Bavaria, Germany. These limestone beds have been mined for their fine grained limestone which is used for lithographic printing. These late Jurassic beds are also faamous for producing fossils of exceptional preservation. During the late Jurassic, this area of Germany was covered by a sea with a series of islands and coastal lagoons. These waters were saline rich and oxygen poor so any creature’s remains that were washed in were preserved until they could be covered in layers of fine marine sediments.

Many types of marine and land animals as well as plant fossils have been found in the Solenhofen Limestone beds, many preserved in almost perfect condition. Insects such as Libellulium longilatum were not inhabitants of the Solenhofen Sea but were blown in, washed in or fell in and then preserved.

Photo courtesy of ip.nhm.org Pterodactylus

Late Jurassic 150‐144 MYA

Pterodactylus is pronounced TERR‐o‐DACK‐till‐us and means “winged finger” in Greek. It was found on the shores of Europe and South Africa. It was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile. Originally named Petro‐Dactyle by Georges Cuvier in 1809, it was later Latinized to the current Pterodactylus in 1815 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.

This small flying reptile was lightly built with hollow bones, a small body, long curved neck and a short tail. The long skull had a long pointed beak with a short hook on the end. It had a relatively large and good eyesight. The long jaws were filled with small pointed teeth. Pterodactylus was a carnivore and probably fed on insects, fish and other small animals.

A tough, leathery membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs, and its elongated 4th finger, forming the structure of the wings. Claws protruded from the other fingers. Pterodactylus had a wing span of three to five feet and could flap its wings, achieving powered flight.

Skull crests have been found only on large, fully adult specimens, indicating this was a display feature that only developed with maturity. Pterodactylus bred seasonally, accounting for the different age groups which have been found together. These large groups have led to some confusion about the number of species. Some individuals that weree originally thought to represent different species were later determined to be juveniles. The two most well‐known species are the Pterodactylus antiquus and Pterodactylus longirostris.

Pterodactylus antiquus Photography courtesy of Carnegie Museum Image courtesy of N. Tamura Anurognathus

Late Jurassic 155 to 140 MYA

Anurognathus, pronounced anYOOR og NATH us, was a tiny pterosaur that lived in the woodlands of Western Europe during the late Jurassic. Its name is Greek for “frog jaw” or “without tail or jaw”. Skeletons have been found in Bavaria, Germany.

This pterosaur, the size of a hummingbird, had a wingspan of 50 cm ( about 20 inches) and a 9 cm (about 3 inches) body and weighed only a few grams. An insectivore, it had a short head 2 cm (less than an inch) filled with pinlike teeth for catching insects. The short, deep skull was characteristic of the primitive pterosaurs. In time they developed longer, thinner heads. The wings were very thin and delicate, stretching from the elongated fourth fingers back to its ankles.

It is a considered a rhamphorhynchoid although its tail was comparatively short, allowing it more maneuverability for hunting in the woodlands. Anurognathus would have chased and eaten insects such as lacewings and damselflies but some of the dragonflies may have been to big for it to take on.

Some scientists have suggested that Anurognathus may have ridden on the backs of the large suaropods, as some birds do today. They may have sat on the backs of animals in grazing herds in order to feed on the insects the dinosaurs would have attracted. The bugs surrounding the large dinosaurs would have provided Anurognathus with a steady source of food. The dinosaurs may have also provided some degree of protection from much larger pterosaurs.

Image courtesy of About.com Dinosaurs Archaeopteryx lithographica

Late Jurassic 150 t0 145 MYA

Archaeopteryx lithographica lived in the late Jurassic, about 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago. The first Archaeopteryx fossil found, a , was found in 1861 in limestone near Solnhofen, Germany. So far, less than 10 specimens have been found, including the feather. It may well be one of the most important fossils ever discovered.

The name means “ancient wing from the printing stone.” Archaeopteryx is derived from ancient Greek and the lithographica comes from the limestone in which it was discovered. The stone is a smooth fine grained limestone which was used in printing.

Since the late 19th century it has generally been accepted by paleontologists as being the first bird. More recent studies have cast some doubt on this assumption. Some claim that it is actually a non‐avian dinosaur closely related to the . Archaeopteryx is considered a bird because it has feathers. It had many dinosaurian characteristics not found in modern birds as well as features found in birds but not in dinosaurs.

About the size of a crow, it had short broad wings and a long tail. Like modern birds it had feathers, a lightly built body with hollow bones, a wish bone and reduced fingers. Unlike birds, it also had jaws lined with sharp teeth, three fingers ending in curved claws on each wing, head covered in scales, flat , belly ribs and a long bony tail. Its wingspan was about 1.5 feet and and it weighed from 11 to 18 ounces. Archaeopteryx may have been able to fly, but probably not very far and not very well.

Most were generalists capable of feeding in both the shrubs and open growth as well as alongside the shores of the lagoon. It most likely hunted small prey, seizing it with its jaws if is was small enough or with its claws if the prey was larger.

The part bird/part dinosaur features of Archaeopteryx provide strong evidence of the dinosaur ancestry of birds. It has long been accepted that it was a transitional form between the birds we see flying around and the predatory dinosaurs such as . Scientists are still debating where Archaeopteryx fit into the evolutionary family tree.

Bird fossils are somewhat rare since bird bones are hollow and fragile and usually deteriorate instead of fossilizing. The Solnhofen area where the fossils were found was a stagnant lagoon during the Mesozoic Era. There was little or no oxygen in the water near the bottom, a situation which helped preserve many dead organisms and thereby boost the chance of fossil formation because decay after death is very slow in anoxic waters.

Most of the Archaeopteryx fossils include impressions of feathers, among the oldest direct evidence of the structure. Moreover, since these feathers are of such an advanced form, flight feathers, these fossils are evidence that the evolution of feathers began before the Late Jurassic. Whether the feathers were used for regulating body temperature or for flight is still open for discussion.

Photo courtesy of Berkeley.edu Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org Pterodactyloids

Pterodactyloidea were the second of the two suborders of pterosaurs, appearing in the mid to late Jurassic and dying out in the K‐T extinction. Their name is derived from the Greek words for wing and finger. They competed in the same ecological niche as the primitive pterosaurs and eventually replaced them. Pterodactyl is a common term for this suborder.

The pterodactyloids were markedly different from the primitive pterosaurs once called the Rhamphorhynchoids. They had shorter tails, many skeletal modifications and a larger brain. To compensate for the smaller tail and corresponding loss of flying maneuverability, Pterodactyloids developed larger brains to deal with the more complex task of steering with the head and wings.

Their wings also became larger for increased control. Most flapped their wings to fly and could glide faster, farther and higher in the sky, swooping down to pluck fish from the surface of the oceans, lakes and rivers. Some paleontologists speculate that the biggest pterosaurs never flew due to their size. Others say these large creatures soared on warm air currents. The largest, Quetzalcoatlus, had some features, such as small feet and a stiff neck that were ideal for stalking small dinos on land.

The skulls remained large and accounted for a large perccentage of the total body size. The skull had the same number of openings as the primitive suborder but in many cases the nostril opening is incorporated into the eye socket. Although the necks beecame longer, the number of vertebrae (7) remained the same.

Many pterodactyls had well developed crests on their head, in some a form of display taken to extremes. The giant crested forms may have been for seexual displayy. The jaws became more varied and, if present, the teeth became more specialized. The most advanced forms lacked teeth.

Artist’s depiction of Quetzalcoatllus feeding on ground Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Pterodaustro

Early Cretaceous 140 to 130 million years ago

Pterodaustro, pronounced TEAR‐roe‐DAW‐stroh, is Greek for “Southern wing”. Found in and Chile, it was the first pterosaur to be discovered in . It had a wing span of up to ten feet and weighed four to five pounds. and is most often compared to the modern , which it may have closely resembled in appearance, if not in every aspect of its anatomy. It had a long curved beak with a thousand or so bristle‐like teeth that extended upwards from the lower jaw.

Pterodaustro lived along lakes of sea shores. It probably waded in shallow water, straining food with its tooth comb. A method called filter feeding. Its diet likely consisted of plankton including small , creatures that were abundant in the sediment of the fossil sites.

The upper jaw did not have bristle teeth, but instead had small globular teeth, suggesting that the small invertebrates were probably mashed before swallowing. This jaw arrangement would have allowed Pterodaustro to scoop up a beak full of water and drain the water out while keeping the food inside. It also allowed the beak to be closed without damaging the bristle teeth. At least two specimens have been found with stones in the stomach cavity, a first for pterosaurs, supporting the idea that it ate mainly small hard shelled invertebrates. Since shrimp and are predominanly , some paleontologists speculate that Pterodaustro may have had a distinctly pinkish hue.

The scleral rings of Pterodaustro, which are rings of bones found in the eyes of several groups of vertebrate animals, except for mammals and crocodilians, indicate it may have been nocturnal. There could be several reasons for this, including avoiding daytime predators, less feeding competition, or the relative abundance of the food supply at night. It could have been a combination of any of these.

Because of the huge number of discovered fossils ‐ over 750 known specimens ‐ the growth cycle can be easily established. Pterodaustro’s fastest period of growth took place over its first two years and in this time the individual would reach up to half of its adult size. It is then thought to have reached reproductive maturity, although it could continue to grow for an additional five years until fully grown. A fossilized egg has even been found with an inside.

Image courtesy of dinosaurcentral.com Image courtesy of Bay State Replicas

Nyctosaurus

Late Cretaceous 85 to 84.5 million years ago

Pronounced NICK‐toe‐SORE‐us, the name of this of pterodactyloid pterosaur means “night lizard” in Greek. Nyctosaurus fossils were first found in the of the Smokey Hills of . This area had been covered by the Greaat Western Seaway of the Cretaceous . there have been many species assigned to this genus but how many are valid is not yet known.

Nyctosaurus was similar in anatomy to its close relative and contemporary Pteranodon. It had a wing span of 10 feet and its relatively long wings were similar in shape to modern . Nyctosaurus was smaller overall than Pteranodon and weighed about 15 pounds. It had long and extremely pointed jaws with tips that were thin and needle sharp. Nyctosaurus ate fiish.

Nyctosaurus was the only pterosaur to have lost all of its clawed fingers with the exception of the wing finger. On this finger the fourth phalanx was lost. These changes likely made its movement on the ground very difficult, leading paleontologists to speculate that it spent almost all its time in the air and spent little time in the air. The lack of claws with which to grip surfaces would have made climbing or clinging to cliffs or tree trunks impossible.

The most striking feature in at least one species of Nyctosaurus was its exttraordinarily large antler‐like cranial crest. This distinctive crest , close to two feet in older adults, was rrelatively gigantic when compared to the rest of the body and was over three times thhe length of the head. The crest was made up of two long grooved spars, one pointed upwards and the other pointed backwards, rising from a common base projecting up and back from the back of the skull. The two spars were nearly equal in length, 1.3 feet in length for the upward pointing spar and 1 foot for the backward pointing spar and both were nearly as long or longer than the body.

Nyctosaurus appears to have grown quickly, going from hatchling to adult size in under a . Sub adult specimens lack any trace of a head crest indicating that the crest beggan to develop after the first year of life. The crest may have continued to grow throughout its life.

Some scientists had initially hypothesized that the crest may supported a skin headsail. However there is no fossil evidence for a membrane being attached to the spars and it is more likely that the crest acted as mainly for display.

Photo courtesy of Carnegie Museum Artist impressionn courtesy of Wikipedia Quetzalcoatlus

Late Cretaceous 67‐65 MYA

The largest known flying animal of all time was a pterosaur named Quetzalcoatlus pronounced kwet zel KWAT lus It was the last known pterosaur and survived to the very end of the Cretaceous period.

The first Quetzalcoatlus fossils were discovered in , in 1972 by Doug Lawson. He named the creature after the Aztec feathered‐serpent god Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan as big as a small plane (over 40 feet) and may have weighed 200 to 300 hundred pounds. It was lightly built with a 10 foot long neck. Its legs were 7 feet long, as was its head. Quetzalcoatlus had slender, toothless, sharp pointed jaws and a head topped by a long bony crest. It had a large brain and big eyes and probably had good eyesight. Furlike fuzz may have covered its body.

The wings were covered by a leathery membrane. This thin but tough membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongated fourth fingers. Claws protruded from its other fingers. It was a good soarer and was certainly able to cover large distances.

Unlike most other pterosaurs, Quetzalcoatlus lived inland and possibly fed on the ground like modern by hunting small vertebrates on land or in small streams. Other scientists believe that it may have lived rather like a vulture and fed on the corpses of dead dinosaurs or that it flew low over warm shallow seas plucking fish from the surface. But some paleontologists, taking note of the long slender jaws suggest it probed soft ground and pools for mollusks and crustaceans

Image courtesy of About.com Dinosaurs Image courtesy of thedinsoaurs.org Pteranodon

Late Cretaceous 83 to 70 MYA

Pronounced The‐RAN‐uh‐DON, the name means “winged and toothless”. Pteranodon is a genus of pterosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 83 to 70 million years ago. It was an important part of the animal community present in the Western Interior Seaway of North America. Fossils have been found in present day Kanas, , , and . During the Cretaceous, this area was covered by a large inland sea.

Pteranodons resembled a giant pelican in many ways. They were about six feet long with a 25 to 33 foot wing spread and weighed between 25 and 35 pounds. They had hollow bones, were lightly built, had almost no tail and small bodies which may have been covered in fur‐like pyncofibers. They had large brains indicating greater intelligence than other reptiles and the eyes were also relatively large meaning the animals relied on good eyesight.

One of the most distinctive features of Pteranodon is the head crest. The crest was made up of skull bones (frontals) projecting upward and backward from the skull. The size and shape of the crest varied due to a number of factors, including age, gender and species. The crest may have helped balance the long jaws and beak, providing stabilization as the animal flew, and was a distinguishing sexual characteristic between male and female.

Adult could be divided into two distinct groups. The females were smaller and had a smaller, rounded head crests and very wide pelvic canals. The size of the pelvic canals was probably to allow for the passage of eggs. The other class, representing males, were much bigger, had narrow hips and very large crests. Females outnumbered males two to one in the fossil record, which may meant the Pteranodon was polygynous with a few males competing for association with groups of females.

Pteranodons had a toothless beak similar to that of modern birds. The beaks were long and slender and ended in sharp points. The upper jaw was longer than the lower jaw. Pteranodon were carnivorous and probably hunted for fish like the modern day pelican, scooping fish out of the water and swallowing it whole. Although fish was the bulk of their diet, they may have also been scavengers, eating dead or living mollusks, crabs and insects.

The wings were covered by a thin, tough, leathery membrane that stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongated fourth fingers, forming the structure of the wings. Claws protruded from the other fingers. Almost certainly a soaring animal, it used rising warm air to maintain altitude, a common strategy among large winged animals. Among modern birds, and vultures are adept at soaring.

Although it would have depended upon soaring it probably required an occasional active rapid burst of flapping. Studies indicate it was capable of substantial flapping flight, the wings indicating that it could flap its wings like a bird. Pteranodon flew well because it weighed very little for its large body size due to its hollow bones. It most likely took off from a standing, quadrupedal position. It would have used its forelimbs for leverage as they vaulted themselves into the air in a rapid leap. They may also have been capable of taking off from water.

There are two traditionally recognized species, Pteranodon sternbergi and Pteranodon longiceps. The main difference is the shape of the crests in adult males and possibly the angle of certain skull bones. P sternbergi is older than P longiceps and it has been suggested that P sternbergi became P longiceps through a process known as anagenesis.

The first Pteranodon skull was found in 1876 in Smokey Hill River, Wallace County, Kansas. It was the first pterosaur found outside of Europe. The fosssils have been found in rocks formed in marine environments, indicating that the animal spent much of its time gliding over ocean waters searching for fish. Pteranodon is known from more fossil speecimens than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science. Many of them are well preserved with complete skulls and articulated skeletons.

Map courtesy of Wikipedia

Map of North America during the mid‐Cretaceous Period showing the Western Interior Seaway.

Photo Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History Photo courtesy of www.oceansofkansas.com

Mounted cast of adult male P longiceps Flight of P longiceps as shown as in the opening skeleton scenes of the National Geographic IMAX movie “Sea Monsters”

Photo Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Mounted casts of female and male Artist’s rendition of P steernbergi in P sternbergi skeletons flight Ptweety baby Pteranodon

Not much is known about the breeding cycles of Pteranodon or the number of offspring produced. Paleontologists believed the Pteranodons were nest builders and looked after their young. They may have exhibited parental displays of affection, incubated the nest, brought food to the young and even taught them how to fly.

Photo Courtesy of Mike Keller, AzMNH

Young Pteranodon cast posed in feeding position

Beaks, Teeth, and Ridges‐ Pterosaur and Bird Diversity

Now that you’ve studied the skulls of some birds and pterosaurs, what can you guess about their colors, diet, and hunting styles? Use the Educator Resource packet, your own research about these birds, and the pictures on this worksheet to answer these questions. Don’t forget‐ paleontology is just as much about finding answers as it is about asking questions.

1. Are pterosaurs and birds related? ______2. How are pterosaurs related to dinosaurs? ______3. How are birds related to dinosaurs? ______4. Which of the pterosaurs do you think were carnivorous? ______5. What birds on this list catch flying prey? ______6. Do you think any of the pterosaurs might have caught flying prey? ______7. How might big eyes help these two animals? ______8. How do Great Blue Herons catch their food? ______9. Did any of the pterosaurs have beaks similar to the Great Blue Heron? Which ones? ______10. Which bird walks on sandy beaches and sifts their food from the sand? ______11. Is there a pterosaur that might use their beak to sift through sand and water? How do you know? ______12. Now that you’ve answered these questions, what else do you want to learn about these pterosaurs? Write three questions that you’ve come up with while completing this activity. ______

Beaks, Teeth, and Ridges‐ Pterosaur and Bird Diversity

Now that you’ve studied the skulls of some birds and pterosaurs, what can you guess about their colors, diet, and hunting styles? Use the Educator Resource packet, your own research about these birds, and the pictures on this worksheet to answer these questions. Don’t forget‐ paleontology is just as much about finding answers as it is about asking questions.

1. Are pterosaurs and birds related? Not______directly. Birds are the______direct descendants______of dinosaurs. . ______2. How are pterosaurs related to dinosaurs? ______Dinosaurs and pterosaurs______are part of the same______group—Archosauria ______– which also includes______extinct marine reptiles.. 3. How are birds related to dinosaurs? ______Birds are the direct descendant______of dinosaurs.______4. Which of the pterosaurs do you think were carnivorous? ______Any answer works‐ these______were all carnivorous.______5. What birds on this list catch flying prey? ______Night Hawks ______6. Do you think any of the pterosaurs might have caught flying prey? ______Anurognathus ______7. How might big eyes help these two animals? ______Large eyes (with more blood______vessels and better______receptors) help the predator______keep up with______prey flying in a 3D 8. Howenvironment. do Great Blue Herons catch their food? ______They stalk fish in shallow______water and quickly jab______their beaks into the water______to catch fish ______9. Did any of the pterosaurs have beaks similar to the Great Blue Heron? Which ones? ______Nyctosaurus and pteranadon______ingens ______10. Which bird walks on sandy beaches and sifts their food from the sand? ______Roseate Spoonbill ______11. Is there a pterosaur that might use their beak to sift through sand and water? How do you know? ______gnathosaurus (wide, long______beak) ______12. Now that you’ve answered these questions, what else do you want to learn about these pterosaurs? Write three questions that you’ve come up with while completing this activity. ______

Rulers of the Prehistoric Sky Word Find

O C E U M F L J W B F I M B W M W S Z M X Z I H I R T V R H E W U A G F C G P Q W E P R Y K U M K U E R R K C L J C H U A R I Z O N A M U S E U M O F N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y M J E D W V N H B K N R M V M N W C R A D H G O C M S I G B E L I S S O F F N O Y L Q K W B A U I I L N D R O C S L X E R H V L L O T R D P T E R O S A U R U U I I O W H I R H X N U H Z F Y W I A F V U A T X U F H S U W F O G J N L W R D O S I I G U L N Z M Q L U I C Y M X E N F H D A N Y I A T B B K S U R U A S O R A C I G R L Z X U I S V P R Z O G B P H D U B X L R B E Z J E U W I A X X U R N R V H C M P L A E N I M L Z E F O Y N A H V X D Q D D S Q U C N Y H R B W L N L O P Y T H F B K S W S Y Z S I T T V S Z F J Q A Z Y C W G W R P P Y R T U Z Z X E Q V B R F S Z X S L E O E K W P L O B E C S K T T E D O M T K X F L H K A R I W N Z O R D D F H V T W U E I V S I N U R J V I Q X A J V D K J T P Q Z O S K B P M Q U M N X D M T X K G B V C N M S K H P Y T N V T Q K N U F N O P J W Q G Q I H O Y U Q R P P W H D G E B U Y G E G I B B B R Y T Z G K T A J O H J S R O H W K C R E U S N G V B E M J H O H H W V R X E X T E G N T R O H T Y E H Y P N Y K D C E U G T L S Y N P V F H X K F I X B R D X W R E C L Z K C S J M Q M Q V E K J C B U E D V F Z T F Y L I R M W X R P K U Z E B M I C B P D P Q N M P G M N V R B N J R E P U L N A Y Y P P R F F S X W C W I X A Z K U J N R E C P H Z R P O P X A A B G A D Q U N H R H R F V T B Q F P O D H Y B C G P C B L G W X N N F P D Z Q G T R M D A H F G W G I U H N V M H O X Z Z I G B E V U F H S P X M V I K W A Z Z S L S B M W A L R T P I G H H U N X N E R Z Y V V D S E H T L S G R T Y Q U Y Y L L A Y Y N I T L K R V E S J A B C O R N J V Y Y Y Z C V L F N S R H O B O G X J U G A U H O Z T E V K V X W V D P I D O T V G R B E L N R F F Y K H D X Q Q K I W O Y Z E A

ARCHAEOPTERYX MEMBRANE ARIZONA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY PTERANADON PTEROIDBONE FIRST FLIGHT PTEROSAUR FOSSIL GLIDE RHAMPHORYNCHUS ICAROSAURUS WING LLONGILATUM

Solution

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(Over,Down,Direction) LLONGILATUM(26,11,NW) ARCHAEOPTERYX(22,8,S) MEMBRANE(1,19,SE) ARIZONA MUSEUM OF NATURAL PTERANADON(1,13,NE) HISTORY(1,3,E) PTEROIDBONE(29,15,N) DIGIT(12,11,N) PTEROSAUR(9,6,E) FIRSTFLIGHT(19,8,SW) RADIUS(22,2,SW) FOSSIL(6,5,W) RHAMPHORYNCHUS(13,13,SE) GLIDE(26,27,NW) ULNA(27,22,E) HUMERUS(30,1,S) WING(19,7,NE) ICAROSAURUS(11,9,W)