Description

Tropenognathus Pterosaurs Skull Plaque is museum quality and cast in durable polyurethane resins. Tropenognathus Pterosaurs Skull Plaque measures 26.5 x 11.5 inches. This fine dinosaur skull wall plaque will thrill any dinosaur lover and collector! Crested beak fisher pterosaur. Cretaceous Santana formation of Brazil. 13-ft (4m) wing span.

Tropeognathus pterosaur is a genus of large pterosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of South America. It was a member of the Ornithocheiridae (alternately Anhangueridae), a group of pterosaurs known for their keel-tipped snouts, and was closely related to species of the genus Anhanguera.

Tropeognathus meaning “keel jaw” is a genus of large pterosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of South America.

This genus is considered to be a member of the family Anhangueridae, however, several studies have also recovered it within another family called Ornithocheiridae. Both of these families are diverse groups of pterosaurs known for their keel-tipped snouts and large size.

Tropeognathus pterosaur is regarded as the largest pterosaur found in the Southern Hemisphere, only rivaled by the huge azhdarchids. The type and only species is Tropeognathus mesembrinus. Fossil remains of Tropeognathus have been recovered from the Romualdo Formation, which is a Lagerstätte located in the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil.

The skull of Tropeognathus pterosaur bore distinctive convex “keeled” crests on its snout and underside of the lower jaws, and this was prominent, well-developed, and relatively large in Tropeognathus, specially in males, however, compared to other relatives such as Ornithocheirus, they were relatively thin rather than thick.

The upper crests arosed from the snout tip and extended back to the fenestra nasoantorbitalis, the large opening in the skull side. An additional, smaller crest projected down from the lower jaws at their symphysis.

The similar anhanguerid Anhanguera possessed jaws that were tapered in width, but expanded into a broad, spoon-shaped rosette at the tip, which differed from Tropeognathus for having a narrower appearance.

The jaws can be distinguished from its relatives by a few differences in the crest: unlike its close relatives Coloborhynchus and Ornithocheirus, the crest on the upper jaw of Tropeognathus was more prominent and much larger, and therefore resulting in a broader skull.

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Additional information

Weight 3 lbs
Tropenognathus Dinosaur Skull Plaque

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Family: †Ornithocheiridae
Genus: †Tropeognathus
Type species: †Tropeognathus mesembrinus
Conservation Status: Extinct