Having had the opportunity to work as a teacher, helping young people learn more about Earth science through their fascination with dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, I am constantly amazed at how quickly children learn facts about dinosaurs and the names of other creatures in the fossil record. . Children as young as three seem to have the ability to absorb tidbits about dinosaurs and have been known to trip me up with their questions from time to time. However, I still meet some children and indeed their parents who seem to think that all extinct ancient reptiles of the past must have been dinosaurs. This is far from the truth, the Dinosaurian Order only represents a fraction of known vertebrate fossils and a relatively small proportion of reptile fossils. A common misconception is that pterosaurs, also known as flying reptiles, were dinosaurs, this is not the case and I do my best to explain this in the course of my teaching. My favorite pterosaur genus is Rhamphorhynchus and I use illustrations and information about this particular flying Jurassic reptile to illustrate the differences between it and the dinosaurs.
My favorite pterosaur – Rhamphorhynchus
Scholars have studied Rhamphorynchus fossils for nearly two hundred years. Fossils of these Late Jurassic pterosaurs have been found in England, Germany, Spain, and East Africa (Tanzania). Pterosaur teeth have also been found in sedimentary strata from the Upper Jurassic in Portugal, these have been tentatively attributed to the genus Rhamphorhynchus.
As pterosaurs go, there are certainly much more spectacular forms than the Rhamphorhynchidae. For example, there is the huge Late Cretaceous Pteranodon (Pteranodon longiceps) of the western part of the United States. Pteranodon was one of the largest flying reptiles, with a wingspan of approximately 8 meters and an impressive crest on its head. Rhamphorhynchus had no head crest and was considerably smaller, but for me, this long-tailed flying reptile has always fascinated me and I keep wanting to learn more about this particular part of the Pterosauria.
Rhamphorhynchus – A Description
Rhamphorhynchus was a member of the Pterosauria, not a dinosaur but a flying reptile, closely related to the dinosaurs but a distinct group. Like the Dinosauria, the Pterosauria were archosaurs, evolving sometime in the mid-Triassic and surviving until the end of the Cretaceous period. Rhamphorhynchus (Rhamphorhynchus muensteri) was a pterosaur from coastal areas and coastal environments that lived at the end of the Jurassic, although the fossils assigned to the family Rhamphorhynchidae cover a period of almost 30 million years in the stratigraphic record. Like all flying reptiles, the wings were flaps of skin (possibly covered with tiny insulating hairs). These wings extended from the elongated fourth finger of the hand to the ankles of the animal. Rhamphorhynchus muensteri it had a wingspan of approximately 1.5 to 1.8 metres, making it about the size of the UK’s largest gull (the great black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus). This is quite appropriate since the fossils of this pterosaur are associated with sedimentary deposits such as marine clays and limestones, deposited in coastal environments such as shallow seas, estuaries, and lagoons. The animal had light, hollow bones and even a fully grown adult probably weighed less than six kilograms. The jaw teeth were long, pointed, and needle-like. The teeth interlocked as the jaws closed, suggesting that this pterosaur was a hunter of fish and squid. These slippery prey could have been caught in the jaws and the interlocking teeth would have held the prey securely.
Rhamphorhynchus, unlike later pterosaurs, had a long, stiff tail, at the end of which was a diamond-shaped rudder. Specimens from the Solnhofen lithographic limestones, the same strata in which the famous Archeopteryx (early bird) fossils were found; they are exquisite. In addition to delicate bones, this fine-grained limestone has preserved soft tissues, internal organs, and even wing impressions. More than a hundred Rhamphorhynchus fossils have been excavated in the Solnhofen quarries (Bavaria, Germany). Such a large number of fossils has allowed scientists to examine the growth rates of this flying reptile and learn how babies and juveniles differ from adults. Research on growth rates indicates that this type of pterosaur grew at about half the rate of later pterosaur genera.
Reasons why Rhamphorhynchus is a favorite
Compared to the giants of the pterosaur world, creatures like Quetzalcoatlus, for example, this example of a more primitive long-tailed flying reptile would hardly deserve a mention. However, it is because of the wonderfully preserved Solnhofen fossils that make Rhamphorhynchus one of my favorites. There are many models, posters, and craft kits available that choose Pteranodon or Quetzalcoatlus as a template, however, one of the first Pterosaur models I owned came with the Jungle Swamp construction kit made by Aurora. This was a prehistoric animal inspired by the USA, the series of nestable kits and Jungle Swamp, which allowed young model makers to create their own prehistoric jungle scene, was one of the best in the whole range. It featured two pterosaur models, both of which were Rhamphorhynchidae, a rare example of these flying reptiles depicted in children’s model kits. Perhaps it’s because of my memories of building the Aurora Jungle Swamp kit that I’m so fond of Rhamphorhynchus.