Description

Rhamphorhynchus Skull Plaque measures 6.5x4x2.7 inches. The Rhamphorhynchus Skull Plaque is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. The Rhamphorhynchus will thrill any dinosaur lover and collector! Rhamphorhynchus longicaudus is the scientific name. From a Pterasaur of Jurassic Solnhofen Germany. Sutures and teeth in accurate detail.

Rhamphorhynchus “beak snout” is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as Pterodactylus, it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic diamond-shaped vane.

The jaws of Rhamphorhynchus housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth, indicating a diet mainly of fish; indeed, fish and cephalopod remains are frequently found in Rhamphorhynchus abdominal contents, as well as in their coprolites.

Although fragmentary fossil remains possibly belonging to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in England, Tanzania, and Spain, the best preserved specimens come from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany.

Many of these fossils preserve not only the bones but impressions of soft tissues, such as wing membranes. Scattered teeth believed to belong to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in Portugal as well.

Juvenile Rhamphorhynchus had relatively short skulls with large eyes, and the toothless beak-like tips of the jaws were shorter in juveniles than adults, with rounded, blunt lower jaw tips eventually becoming slender and pointed as the animals grew.

Adult Rhamphorhynchus also developed a strong upward “hook” at the end of the lower jaw. The number of teeth remained constant from juvenile to adult, though the teeth became relatively shorter and stockier as the animals grew, possibly to accommodate larger and more powerful prey.

The pelvic and pectoral girdles fused as the animals aged, with full pectoral fusion attained by one year of age.

The shape of the tail vane also changed across various age classes of Rhamphorhynchus. In juveniles, the vane was shallow relative to the tail and roughly oval, or “lancet-shaped”.

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Additional information

Weight 2.7 lbs
Dimensions 6.5 × 4 × 2.7 in
Rhamphorhynchus Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Family: †Rhamphorhynchidae
Subfamily: †Rhamphorhynchinae
Genus: †Rhamphorhynchus
Type species: †Rhamphorhynchus longicaudus
Species: †Rhamphorhynchus muensteri
Conservation Status: Extinct