| Pteranodon Fossil range: Mid-Late Cretaceous |
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Pteranodon (pronounced /tɨˈrænədɒn/; from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν-οδων "toothless"), from the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Campanian, 89. In Taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c The privative a (also known as privative alpha or α privativum) is the prefix a- which expresses negation or absence (e Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England The Coniacian is a stage of the Late Cretaceous Epoch. It spans the time between 89 The Campanian is a stage on the Geologic time scale occurring from 83 3-70. 6 million years ago) of North America (Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota) was one of the largest pterosaur genera, with a wingspan of up to 9 m (30 ft). Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. South Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit
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Description
Unlike earlier pterosaurs such as Rhamphorhynchus and Pterodactylus, Pteranodon had toothless beaks, like modern birds. Rhamphorhynchus (ˌræmfəˈrɪŋkəs was a long-tailed Pterosaur of the Jurassic period Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that Anatomy Stegosaurus --> Beaks can vary significantly in size and shape from species to species Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.
Pteranodon fossils have been generally found in the Cretaceous chalk beds of Kansas. Chalk (ʧɔːk is a soft white porous Sedimentary rock, a form of Limestone composed of the Mineral Calcite. These chalk beds were deposited at the bottom of what was once an epicontinental seaway on what is now the North American continent. The first Pteranodon skull was found on May 2, 1876, in the Smoky Hill River in Wallace County, Kansas, USA, by S. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Smoky Hill River is a River in the US states of Colorado and Kansas. Wallace County (standard abbreviation WA) is a County located in the U W. Williston, a fossil collector working for Othniel Marsh. Othniel Charles Marsh ( October 29, 1831 &ndash March 18, 1899) was one of the pre-eminent Paleontologists of the 19th century who The Niobrara Formation is possibly the most famous unit here, and other fossils found in this formation include those of sea turtles, mosasaurs, and early birds. Sea turtles ( Superfamily Chelonioidea) are Turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. Mosasaurs (from Latin Mosa meaning the ' Meuse river ' in the Netherlands and Greek sauros meaning 'lizard' were serpentine marine Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. [1]
Pteranodon were reptiles, but not dinosaurs. Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers By definition, all dinosaurs were diapsid reptiles with an upright stance, and consist of the group containing saurischians and ornithischians. Diapsids ("two arches" are a group of Reptiles that developed two holes ( Temporal fenestra) in each side of their Skulls about 300 Million Saurischia (sɔːˈrɪskiə, from the Greek sauros ( σαυρος) meaning 'lizard' and ischion ( ισχιον) meaning 'hip joint' Ornithischia (ɔrnɪˈθɪskiə) or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked herbivorous Dinosaurs The name ornithischia While the advanced pterodactyloid pterosaurs (like Pteranodon) had a semi-upright stance, it evolved independently of the upright stance in dinosaurs, and pterosaurs lacked the distinctive adaptations in the hip associated with the dinosaurian posture. However, dinosaurs and pterosaurs may have been closely related, and most paleontologists place them together in the group Ornithodira, or "bird necks". Ornithodira is a Clade within the larger group Archosauria In 1986 Jacques Gauthier coined the name for a node clade containing the last common
Discovery and species
A number of species of Pteranodon have been named, the most well-supported being the type species, P. In Taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus. longiceps. This was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1876, and had a wingspan of 7 m (23 ft). The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit [2][3] Other species include the larger P. sternbergi, with a wingspan of 9 m (30 ft),[2] P. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit occidentalis, P. velox, P. umbrosus, P. harpyia, and P. comptus. Many are dubious and may be synonymous with the more well-known species. Marsh identified Pteranodon as "distinguished from all previously known genera of the order {pterosauria} by the entire absence of teeth. For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros " This meant that any toothless pterosaur jaw fragment, wherever it was found in the world, tended to be attributed to Pteranodon. Hence there came to be a plethora of species and a great deal of confusion. The name became a wastebasket taxon, rather like the dinosaur Megalosaurus, to label any pterosaur remains that could not be distinguished other than by the absence of teeth. Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon or dustbin taxon) is a term used in taxonomic circles to refer to a Taxon that has the sole purpose Megalosaurus (meaning "Great Lizard" from Greek, μεγαλο-/megalo- meaning 'big' 'tall' or 'great' and σαυρος/sauros Notable authors who have discussed the various aspects of Pteranodon include Bennett, Padian, Unwin, Kellner, and Wellnhofer. One species, P. orogensis is not actually a pteranodontid and has been renamed Bennettazhia oregonensis. Bennettazhia ('Bennett's Azhdarchid ' is the name given to a Pterosaur (flying reptile formerly known as Pteranodon oregonensis Likewise, P. orientalis has been renamed Bogolubovia orientale (Nessov & Yarkov, 1989) and transferred to the Azhdarchidae. Bogolubovia is a Genus of Pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Petreowsk Russia. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous
Paleobiology
The diet of Pteranodon is known to have included fish; fossilized fish bones have been found in the stomach area of one Pteranodon, and a fossilized fish bolus has been found between the rami of another Pteranodon. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two In Human anatomy, the stomach is a J-shaped hollow muscular organ of the Gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of Digestion, following Pteranodon's wing shape suggests that it would have flown rather like a modern-day albatross. Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large Seabirds allied to the procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving-petrels This is a suggestion based on the fact that the Pteranodon had a high aspect ratio (wingspan to chord length) similar to that of the albatross — 9:1 for Pteranodon, compared to 8:1 for an albatross. The aspect ratio of a Shape is the ratio of its longer Dimension to its shorter dimension In reference to Aircraft, chord refers to the distance between the leading edge and trailing edge of a Wing, Horizontal stabilizer or Vertical stabilizer Albatrosses spend long stretches of time at sea fishing, and utilize a flight pattern called "dynamic soaring" which exploits the vertical gradient of wind speed near the ocean surface to travel long distances without flapping,[4] and without the aid of thermals (which do not occur over the open ocean the same way they do over land). Dynamic Soaring is a Gliding technique used to gain Kinetic energy by repeatedly crossing the boundary between air masses of significantly different horizontal However, other scientists have suggested that Pteranodon could flap their wings and fly with power. These two flight styles need not have been mutually exclusive in Pteranodon, or in pterosaurs in general. Recent wind tunnel tests on model pterosaur wings with the pteroid bone in an extended antero-ventral orientation supporting a large, highly cambered propatagium show that such a configuration enables the wing to develop up to 30% more lift, even at very high angles of attack. This anatomical feature, based on the pteroid bone - the bone unique to the pterosaur clade - may have enabled pterosaurs to be active, powered flyers in spite of the lack of other features associated with strong fliers. For example, pterosaurs usually had a small (relative to modern birds) sternum keel as an anchor point for the pectoralis muscle.
Pteranodon was notable for its skull crest. These may have been used as mating displays, or it might have acted as a rudder, or perhaps both; also, it may have acted as a counterweight to the large beak; the muscles required to keep it upright otherwise would probably have weighed more than the crest did. In Biology, mating is the pairing of opposite- Sex or hermaphroditic Organisms for copulation and in Social animals also to raise their A rudder is a device used to steer a Ship, Boat, Submarine, Hovercraft, or other conveyance that move through a fluid (generally air or It has been suggested that males of the species bore larger crests, but with fossil animals it is often difficult to tell whether differences in crest shape reflect different sexes or different species. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.
Consensus regarding the terrestrial locomotion of Pteranodon (whether it was bipedal or quadrupedal) has historically been the subject of debate. Bipedalism is a form of Terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs Quadrupedalism (from Latin meaning "four legs" is a form of land animal locomotion using four legs. Today, most pterosaur researchers agree that pterosaurs were quadrupedal, thanks largely to the discovery of several pterosaur trackways; however, some new research suggest it was bipedal [[1]]. A fossil trackway is a type of Fossil impression a Trackway made by a once living organism usually by its feet The possibility of swimming has been discussed briefly in two papers (Bennett 2001 and Bramwell & Whitfield),[5] and has been studied in detail at Michigan State University (Smith , 2007) through the use of quantitative morphometrics and an extant phylogenetic bracket (a morphologically comparative technique invented by Larry Witmer). Michigan State University ( MSU) is a co-educational public Research university in East Lansing, Michigan USA. Morphometrics is a field concerned with studying variation and change in the form (size and shape of organisms Commonly the measurements taken are of little significance in terms of Phylogenetic bracketing is a method of Inference used in biological sciences.
In popular culture
- See also: Biological issues in Jurassic Park
In colloquial language, Pteranodon is often erroneously called the "pterodactyl. For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros " However, "pterodactyl" is not actually the name of a specific species; rather, it is a term for all short-tailed pterosaurs (the suborder Pterodactyloidea), which includes Pteranodon, Pterodactylus, and Quetzalcoatlus. Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that Quetzalcoatlus (named for the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl) was a pterodactyloid Pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous This misuse is most likely due to Pteranodon's high profile in popular culture as the quintessential pterodactyloid. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — Pteranodon is also not the name of a specific species, it is the name of a genus.
Pteranodon was seen briefly at the end of the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and also appeared in its sequel, Jurassic Park III. The Lost World Jurassic Park (commonly referred to as The Lost World or Jurassic Park 2) is a 1997 American Science Jurassic Park III is a 2001 and the third film of the ''Jurassic Park'' film series. The depiction in Jurassic Park III featured many inaccuracies, including toothed jaws, exaggerated strength and, presumably, aggression. (Pteranodon is thought to have eaten fish, and was incapable of grasping with its feet). In the novelization of the film, some of these inaccuracies were attributed to the genetic engineering process used to create the animals. A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work More scientifically accurate Pteranodon appeared in the television programs Chased by Dinosaurs, Sea Monsters, and Primeval. This program features Nigel Marven as a time-traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild Sea Monsters was a BBC Television program which used Computer-generated imagery to show past life in Earth's seas Primeval is a British Science fiction Television programme produced for ITV by Impossible Pictures. A trained Pteranodon named Turu appears in the Jonny Quest series. Jonny Quest (often referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest) is a Science fiction / Adventure animated television series Pteranodon appear in two Ray Harryhausen movies, The Valley of Gwangi and One Million Years B.C., as well as the pre-Harryhausen classic King Kong. Ray Harryhausen (born Raymond Frederick Harryhausen on June 29, 1920 in Los Angeles California) is an Academy Award -winning The Valley of Gwangi is a 1969 Fantasy film directed by Jim O'Connolly and written by William Bast. One Million Years BC is a 1966 (released in the United States in 1967 Adventure film / Fantasy film starring Raquel Welch King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from
Petrie from The Land Before Time (series) is a Pteranodon. The Land Before Time is a series of Animated films The series began in 1988 with The Land Before Time, directed and produced by
References
- ^ Bennett SC. (2000) Inferring stratigraphic position of fossil vertebrates from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas. Current Research in Earth Sciences, Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 244, Part 1, 26 p
- ^ a b Wellnhofer, Peter [1991] (1996). Peter Wellnhofer is a German Paleontologist at the "Bayerische Staatssammlung fur Paläontologie" in Munich. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 139. ISBN 0-7607-0154-7.
- ^ Identified as P. ingens in Wellnhofer, 1991.
- ^ Padian K. (1983)A functional analysis of flying and walking in pterosaurs. Paleobiology 9(3):218-239
- ^ Bramwell CD & Whitfield GR (1974) "Biomechanics of Pteranodon", Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B. 267
Smith, Amy C. 2007. Pteranodont claw morphology and its implications for aquatic locomotion. Master's Thesis, Michigan State University.
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