Pterodactylus Kochi Skeleton Plaque

$54.00

SKU: MF13

Description

Pterodactylus Kochi Skeleton Plaque measures 8.5×7 inches. Pterodactylus Kochi Skeleton Plaque is museum quality polyurethane resins made in USA. Ornithocephalus antiquus is the scientifc name. Our precise skeleton can be used as a teaching tool, museum skeleton exhibit, home decor skeleton, or office decor skeleton.

Pterodactylus or Ornithocephalus antiquus, meaning “winged finger” is an extinct genus of pterosaurs, whose members are commonly known as pterodactyls. It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile.

Fossil remains of Pterodactylus or Ornithocephalus antiquus have primarily been found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, which dates back to the Late Jurassic period (early Tithonian stage), about 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago. More fragmentary remains of Pterodactylus have tentatively been identified from elsewhere in Europe, as well as in Africa.

Pterodactylus or Ornithocephalus antiquus was a generalist carnivore that probably fed on a variety of invertebrates. Like all pterosaurs, they  had wings 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.

They were a small pterosaur compared to other famous genera such as Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus, and it also lived earlier, during the Late Jurassic period, while both Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus lived during the Late Cretaceous.

They lived alongside other small pterosaurs such as the well-known Rhamphorhynchus, as well as other genera such as Scaphognathus, Anurognathus and Ctenochasma. They are classified as an early-branching member of the ctenochasmatid lineage, within the pterosaur clade Pterodactyloidea.

The type specimen of the animal now known as Pterodactylus antiquus was one of the first pterosaur fossils ever to be identified. The first  specimen was described by the Italian scientist Cosimo Alessandro Collini in 1784, based on a fossil skeleton that had been unearthed from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria.

Ornithocephalus antiquus, like related pterosaurs, had a crest on its skull composed mainly of soft tissues. In adult Pterodactylus, this crest extended between the back edge of the antorbital fenestra and the back of the skull.

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Additional information

Weight 2 lbs
Dimensions 8 × 5.7 in
Pterodactylus Kochi Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Clade: †Lophocratia
Genus: †Diopecephalus
Conservation Status: Extinct