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Pterodactylus (pronounced /ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs/ TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a genus of pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile) that lived during the late Jurassic Period. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. Christoph Gottfried Andreas Giebel ( 13 September, 1820 &ndash 14 November, 1881) German Zoologist and Palaeontologist Harry Govier Seeley ( 18 February 1839 - 8 January 1909) was a British Paleontologist who determined that Dinosaurs Richard Lydekker ( July 25, 1849 - April 16, 1915) was an English naturalist, Geologist and writer of numerous A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning It was a carnivore and probably preyed upon fish and other small animals. A carnivore (ˈkɑrnɪvɔər meaning 'meat eater' ( Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour' is any animal with a diet consisting Like all pterosaurs, the wings of Pterodactylus were formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. Collagen is the main Protein of Connective tissue in Animals and the most abundant protein in Mammals making up about 50% of the whole-body protein Keratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins; tough and insoluble they form the hard but nonmineralized structures found in Reptiles Birds Fossils have been discovered in Europe and Africa.
The name derives from the Greek words pteron (πτερόn, meaning 'wing') and daktylos (δάκτυλος, meaning 'finger') and refers to the way in which the wing is supported by one large finger. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c
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Description
Pterodactylus was a relatively small pterosaur genus, with adult wingspans ranging from 50 centimeters (1. 5 ft) in P. kochi to 2. 4 (8 ft) meters in P. grandis. Other species were smaller, with some such as P. micronyx representing especially tiny individuals. However, these smaller "species" probably represent juvenile specimens of Pterodactylus, Germanodactylus, and/or Gnathosaurus. Germanodactylus ("German finger" is a Genus of dsungaripteroid pterodactyloid Pterosaur from Late Jurassic Gnathosaurus is a genus of Ctenochasmatid Pterosaur known from a single species G [1]
In 1998, the discovery of one specimen assigned to P kochi shed light on the life appearance of Pterodactylus, as it preserved unique soft-tissue traits not present in previous fossil skeletons. Like other ctenochasmatoids, Pterodactylus was found to have a striated soft-tissue crest on the skull. Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Soft tissue impressions also showed unusually long, sharp, and recurved keratin sheaths on its claws. It was covered in hair-like integument, with a mane of longer hair running down the back of its neck. The Integumentary System is an organ system that protects the body from damage comprising the Skin, Hair, scales, nails, sweat glands and their The feet also showed evidence of webbing. Webbed toes is the common name for Syndactyly affecting the feet [2]
History
The animal now known as Pterodactylus was the first pterosaur ever to be identified. The first Pterodactylus specimen was described by the Italian scientist Cosimo Collini in 1784, based on a fossil skeleton unearthed from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The Solnhofen limestone is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of Fossilized organisms some of which such as sea jellies Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12 Collini was the curator of the "Naturalienkabinett", or nature cabinet (a precursor to the modern concept of the natural history museum), in the palace of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. For the 2002 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child see The Cabinet of Curiosities For the 2008 Jane's Addiction box set see A Cabinet of Curiosities Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods Karl Theodor Prince-Elector Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria (December 1724 &ndash February 16, 1799) reigned as Prince-Elector and Count [3] Collini, however, did not recognize the specimen as a flying animal. In fact, Collini could not fathom what kind of animal it might have been. He speculated that it may have been a sea creature, not for any anatomical reason, but because he thought the ocean depths were more likely to have housed unknown types of animals. [4][5] The idea that pterosaurs were aquatic animals persisted among a minority of scientists as late as 1830, when the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler published a text on "amphibians" which included an illustration of Pterodactylus using its wings as flippers. Johann Georg Wagler ( March 28, 1800 - August 23, 1832) was a German Herpetologist. Wagler went so far as to classify Pterodactylus, along with other aquatic vertebrates (namely plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and monotremes), in the class Gryphi, between birds and mammals. Plesiosaurs (ˈpliːziəˌsɔɹ ( Greek: plesios/πλησιος meaning 'near' or 'close to' and sauros/σαυρος meaning Ichthyosaurs ( Greek for 'fish lizard' - ιχθυς / ichthyos meaning 'fish' and σαυρος / sauros meaning 'lizard' were giant Monotremes (from the Greek monos 'single' + trema 'hole' referring to the Cloaca) are Mammals that lay eggs ( Prototheria) instead [6]
It was the German scientist Johann Hermann who first recognized that Pterodactylus used its long fourth finger to support a wing membrane. Johann, or Jean, Hermann ( December 31, 1738 in Barr, Alsace - October 4, 1800 in Strasbourg In 1800, Hermann alerted the French scientist George Cuvier to the existence of the fossil, believing that it would be captured by the occupying armies of Napoleon and sent to France (and likely to Cuvier himself) for study. Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier ( August 23 1769 &ndash May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Hermann sent Cuvier a letter containing his own interpretation of the specimen (though he had not examined it personally), which he believed to be a mammal, including the first known life restoration of a pterosaur. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Hermann restored the animal with wing membranes extending from the long fourth finger to the ankle and a covering of fur (neither wing membranes nor fur had been preserved in the specimen). Hermann also added a membrane between the neck and wrist, as is the condition in bats. Cuvier agreed, and at Hermann's suggestion became was the first to publish these ideas in December of 1800. [5] Cuvier remarked, "[It is not possible to doubt that the long finger served to support a membrane that, by lengthening the anterior extremity of this animal, formed a good wing. ]"[7]
It was not until 1817 that a second specimen of Pterodactylus came to light, again from Solnhofen. This tiny specimen was described by Soemmerring as Ornithocephalus brevirostrus (for its short snout, now understood to be a juvenile character), and provided a restoration of the skeleton, the first one published for any pterosaur. [5]
Classification
The genus now known as Pterodactylus was originally named Ptero-dactyle by Cuvier in 1809. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic [8] In 1812, Samuel Thomas von Sömmering named a another specimen of the same species Ornithocephalus antiquus. Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring ( 28 January 1755 &ndash 2 March 1830) was a German Physician, Anatomist, As the senior synonym, Cuvier's name had precedence, so the type species became known as Ptero-dactyle antiquus, which was Latinized to the current name by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. In Taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus. Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe ( October 22 1783 - September 18 1840) was a nineteenth-century
Hermann von Meyer, in 1830, named the family Pterodactylidae to contain Pterodactylus and other pterosaurs known at the time. Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer ( September 3, 1801 - April 2, 1869) was a German Palaeontologist. In Biological classification, family ( Latin This family has more recently been used to refer to many similar species from Germany and elsewhere, though recent studies suggest it may be a paraphyletic or polyphyletic unnatural grouping with respect to more advanced members of the Ctenochasmatoidea (or Archaeopterodactyloidea). In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all In Phylogenetics, a Taxon is polyphyletic ( Greek for "of many races" if the trait its members have in common evolved separately in different Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. [9][10]
Species
Numerous species have been assigned to Pterodactylus in the years since its discovery, the most well-known and well-supported being P. antiquus and P. kochi. However, most studies since the 1990s have found little reason to separate even these two, and have treated them as synonymous. [9][11] Many researchers, including David Unwin, have found P. longicollum to be distinct from P. kochi and P. antiquus. Unwin found P. longicollum to be closer to Germanodactylus and therefore requiring a new genus name. [9] It is sometimes placed in the genus Diopecephalus; however, Diopcephalus was originally intended as a new genus name for P. kochi, which is no longer thought to be separate from Pterodactylus. Diopcephalus is therefore a synonym of Pterodactylus, and as such is unavailable for use as a new genus for "P. " longicullum. [11]
Many species assigned to Pterodactylus have been based on juvenile specimens, and have subsequently been recognized as immature individuals of other species or genera. P. elegans, for example, was found by numerous studies to be an immature Ctenochasma. Ctenochasma is an Extinct Genus of Late Jurassic Pterosaur belonging to the suborder Pterodactyloidea. [12] Another species of Pterodactylus based on small, immature specimens is P. micronyx. However, it has been difficult to determine exactly of what genus and species P. micronyx might be the juvenile form. Christopher Bennett and others have suggested it may belong to Gnathosaurus subultus. Gnathosaurus is a genus of Ctenochasmatid Pterosaur known from a single species G [1]
Synonyms and dubious species
During its over 200 year history, the various species of Pterodactylus have gone through a number of changes in classification, and thus have acquired a large number of synonyms. Additionally, a number of species assigned to Pterodactylus are based on poor remains that have proven difficult to assign to one species or another, and are therefore considered nomena dubia ("doubtful names"). In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium ( Latin for "doubtful name" plural nomina dubia) is a scientific name that is
- Synonyms of Pterodactylus antiquus:
- Ornithocephalus antiquus von Soemmering, 1812
- Ornithocephalus brevirostris von Soemmering, 1816–17
- Ptenodracon brevirostris (von Soemmering, 1816–17) Lydekker, 1888
- Pterodactylus brevirostris (von Soemmering, 1816–17) Oken, 1819
- Pterodactylus longirostris Cuvier, 1819
- Macrotrachelus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Giebel, 1852
- Ornithocephalus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Ritgen, 1826
- Pterodactylus "suevicus" Oken, 1825 [nomen nudum]
- Pterodactylus crocodilocephaloides Ritgen, 1826
- Pterodactylus spectabilis von Meyer, 1861
- Synonyms of Pterodactylus micronyx:
- Pterodactylus nettecephaloides Ritgen, 1826
- Ornithocephalus redenbacheri Wagner, 1851
- Pterodactylus redenbacheri (Wagner, 1851) Wagner, 1861
- Pterodactylus pulchellus von Meyer, 1861
- Synonyms of Pterodactylus kochi:
- Ornithocephalus kochi Wagner, 1837
- Diopecephalus kochi (Wagner, 1837) Seeley, 1871
- Pterodactylus meyeri Muenster, 1842
- Ornithocephalus meyeri (Muenster, 1842) Wagner, 1851
- Pterodactylus scolopaciceps von Meyer, 1850
- Rhamphorhynchus scolopaciceps (von Meyer, 1850)
- Dubious species of Pterodactylus:
- P. cerinensis Meyer, 1860
- P. grandipelvis Meyer, 1860
- P. manseli Owen, 1874
- P. Sir Richard Owen KCB ( Lancaster, July 20 1804 &ndash December 18 1892) was an English Biologist pleydelli Owen, 1874
- P. suprajurensis Sauvage, 1873
- P. arningi Reck, 1931
- P. maximus Reck, 1931
- P. cerinensis Meyer, 1860
References
- ^ a b Bennett, S. C. (2002). "Soft tissue preservation of the cranial crest of the pterosaur Germanodactylus from Solnhofen. " Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22(1): 43-48.
- ^ Frey, E. , and Martill, D. M. (1998). "Soft tissue preser vation in a specimen of Pterodactylus kochi (Wagner) from the Upper Jurassic of Germany. " Neues Jahrbuch fu ̈r Geologie und Pala ̈ontologie, Abhandlungen, 210: 421– 441.
- ^ Unwin, David M. (2006). The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time. New York: Pi Press, 246. ISBN ISBN 0-13-146308-X.
- ^ Collini, C A. (1784). "Sur quelques Zoolithes du Cabinet d’Histoire naturelle de S. A. S. E. Palatine & de Bavière, à Mannheim. " Acta Theodoro-Palatinae Mannheim 5 Pars Physica, pp. 58–103 (1 plate).
- ^ a b c Taquet, P. , and Padian, K. (2004). "The earliest known restoration of a pterosaur and the philosophical origins of Cuvier’s Ossemens Fossiles. " Comptes Rendus Palevol, 3(2): 157-175.
- ^ Wagler, J. (1830). Natürliches System der Amphibien Munich, 1830: 1-354.
- ^ Cuvier, G. (1801). [Reptile volant]. In: Extrait d’un ouvrage sur les espèces de quadrupèdes dont on a trouvé les ossemens dans l’intérieur de la terre. Journal de Physique, de Chimie et d’Histoire Naturelle, 52: 253–267.
- ^ Cuvier, G. (1809). "Mémoire sur le squelette fossile d’un reptile volant des environs d’Aichstedt, que quelques naturalistes ont pris pour un oiseau, et dont nous formons un genre de Sauriens, sous le nom de Ptero-Dactyle. " Annales du Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 13: 424–437.
- ^ a b c Unwin, D. M. , (2003). "On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs. " Pp. 139-190. in Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J. -M. , (eds. ) (2003). Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, London, 1-347.
- ^ Kellner, A. W. A. (2003). "Pterosaur phylogeny and comments on the evolutionary history of the group. " Pp. 105-137 in Buffetaut, E. and Mazin, J. -M. , (eds. ) (2003), Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, London: 1-347.
- ^ a b Bennett, S. Christopher (2006). "Juvenile specimens of the pterosaur Germanodactylus cristatus, with a review of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26 (4): 872-878.
- ^ Stéphane Jouve, S. (2004). "Description of the skull of a Ctenochasma (Pterosauria) from the latest Jurassic of eastern France, with a taxonomic revision of European Tithonian Pterodactyloidea. " Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(3): 542-554.
External links
- The Pterosaur Database - Upper Jurassic Several species are discussed following individual links here.
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