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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 5, 2024 4:10:15 GMT
Name: AcamptonectesPronunciation: Ah-camp-toe-nek-teez Meaning of name: "Rigid swimmer", in reference to the tight-fitting bones in the back and lower part of the skull and its interlocking vertebrae. Species: A. densusSize: 3 metres long and weighing around 100kgs. Family: Opthalmosauridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from several partial specimens discovered in Cremlingen, northwestern Germany and the Cambridge Greensand and Speeton Clay Formations of northern England. First discovered in 1958. Named by Valentin Fischer, Michael W. Maisch, Darren Naish, Ralf Kosma, Jeff Liston, Ulrich Joger, Fritz J. Krüger, Judith Pardo Pérez, Jessica Tainsh and Robert M. Appleby in 2012. Lived: 130 million years ago during the Hauterivian stage of the Early Cretaceous in the warm oceans that once covered parts of what is now Germany and northern England. Artist's impression of Acamptonectes
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 6, 2024 5:53:27 GMT
Name: UtatsusaurusPronunciation: Oo-tot-soo-sore-us Meaning of name: "Utatsu lizard", after Utatsu-cho (now part of Minamisanriku-cho), Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Species: U. hataiiSize: 3 metres long. Weight uncertain. Family: Utatsusauridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known only from a small number of specimens, the first of which was discovered in Japan in 1982. Named in 2003. Additional specimens have also been discovered in Canada. Utatsusaurus is the earliest known Ichthyosaur. Lived: 250 to 245 million years ago from the Olenekian stage of the Early Triassic to the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic in the oceans and shallow seas that once covered parts of what is now Japan and Canada. Artist's impression of Utatsusaurus
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 6, 2024 21:55:36 GMT
Name: LacusovagusPronunciation: La-cu-so-va-gus Meaning of name: "Lake wanderer" Species: L. magnificensWingspan: Estimated to have measured around 4 metres. Family: Chaoyangopteridae Diet: Carnivore First fossils found: Known only from a partial skull discovered in the Crato Formation of northeastern Brazil in 2008. Named in the same year by British palaeontologist, Mark Witton. Lived: 120 million years ago during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous in what is now northeastern Brazil.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 8, 2024 7:20:40 GMT
Name: AerodactylusPronunciation: Air-o-dak-te-lus Meaning of name: "Wind finger" Species: A. scolopacicepsWingspan: Full adult wingspan uncertain as the only known fossils belong to juveniles. Family: Aurorazhdarchidae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from the complete skeletons of six juveniles discovered in the Solnhofen Limestone of Bavaria, southeast Germany. Was originally named as a species of Pterodactylus by German palaeontologist, Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer, in 1860. Re-named Aerodactylus by S. U. Vidovic and D. M. Martill in 2014. Lived: 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago during the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic in what is now southeast Germany.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 9, 2024 3:53:20 GMT
Name: FeilongusPronunciation: Fee-long-us Meaning of name: "Flying dragon" Species: F. youngiWingspan: Uncertain due to a lack of fossils, but is estimated to have measured around 2.5 metres Family: Boreopteridae Diet: Carnivore/piscivore First fossils found: Known only from two partial skulls, the first of which was discovered in the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, northeast China, in 2005. Named in the same year by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Kellner, Zhou Zhonghe and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The second skull was discovered in 2014. Lived: 129.4 to 113 million years ago during the Barremian and Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now northeast China.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 10, 2024 3:17:33 GMT
Name: StyxosaurusPronunciation: Sticks-oh-sore-us Meaning of name: "Styx lizard", after the mythological River Styx which separated the Greek underworld from the world of the living. Species: S. snowii, S. browniSize: Measured between 11 and 12 metres long, half of that length being composed of its neck. Weighed around 4 metric tonnes. Family: Elasmosauridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from two specimens including a mostly complete skeleton. Originally named as a species of Cimoliasaurus by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1890 before being re-named as a species of Elasmosaurus in 1906. S. snowii named by American palaeontologist, Samuel Paul Welles, in 1890. S. browni also named by Mr. Welles in 1943. Lived: 83.6 to 72.1 million years ago during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in the Western Interior Seaway which once covered parts of what is now Canada and the western, south-central, midwestern and southwestern United States. Skull of S. snowii
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 11, 2024 3:54:41 GMT
Name: MicrocleidusPronunciation: Mi-cro-clie-dus Meaning of name: "Small collarbone" Species: M. tournemirensis, M. homalospondylus, M. macropterusSize: 3 metres long Family: Microcleididae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from specimens discovered in France, Germany, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. M. homalospondylus named by English palaeontologist, Sir Richard Owen, in 1865. M. macropterus also named in 1865. M. tournemirensis named in 1990. Lived: Depending on species, lived between 182.7 and 174.1 million years ago during the Toarcian stage of the Early Jurassic in the oceans and shallow seas that once covered parts of what is now France, Germany, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. M. tournemirensis fossils
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 11, 2024 21:36:23 GMT
Name: AfrotapejaraPronunciation: Af-ro-tap-e-jar-rah Meaning of name: "African old one" Species: A. zouhriWingspan: Uncertain due to a lack of fossils, but is estimated to have measured between 3.5 and 5 metres Family: Tapejaridae Diet: Uncertain. Possible frugivore. First fossils found: Known only from three partial snouts discovered in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco, North Africa. Named by David M. Martill, Roy Smith, David M. Unwin, Alexander Kao, James McPhee and Nizar Ibrahim in 2020. Lived: 95 million years ago during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now North Africa.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 13, 2024 7:24:40 GMT
Name: MixosaurusPronunciation: Mix-oh-sore-us Meaning of name: "Mixed lizard", because it appears to have been a transitional form between the eel-shaped Ichthyosaurs and the later dolphin-shaped Ichthyosaurs. Species: M. cornalianus, M. kuhnschnyderi, M. xindianensisSize: Depending on species, measured between 1 and 2 metres long. Family: Mixosauridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from several specimens discovered in China, Timor, Indonesia, Italy, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Canada, Alaska and the western United States. M. cornalianus named by German palaeontologist, Georg Baur, in 1887. M. kuhnschnyderi named in 1998. M. xindianensis named in 2010. Lived: Depending on species, lived between 250 and 240 million years ago from the Olenekian stage of the Early Triassic through to the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic in the oceans and shallow seas that once covered parts of what is now China, Timor, Indonesia, Italy, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Canada, Alaska and the western United States.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 13, 2024 21:32:54 GMT
Name: MaaradactylusPronunciation: Maah-rah-dak-te-lus Meaning of name: "Maara finger" Species: M. kellneri, M. spielbergiWingspan: Estimated to have measured around 6 metres Family: Anhangueridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known only from partial specimens discovered in northeastern Brazil and possibly England. M. kellneri named by Renan A. M. Bantim, Antônio A. F. Saraiva, Gustavo R. Oliveira and Juliana M. Sayão in 2014. The species Coloborhynchus spielbergi, also assigned as Anhanguera spielbergi, was reassigned to Maaradactylus by Megan L. Jacobs as M. spielbergi, in 2019. Lived: 110 million years ago during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous in what is now northeastern Brazil and possibly England. M. kellneri skull reconstruction
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 14, 2024 22:05:25 GMT
Name: MuzquizopteryxPronunciation: Muz-kwee-op-teh-riks Meaning of name: "Múzquiz wing" Species: M. coahuilensisWingspan: 2 metres Family: Nyctosauridae Diet: Uncertain. Likely piscivore. First fossils found: Known only from a single, almost-complete skeleton (missing only the snout and lower jaw) discovered in northern Mexico sometime during the 1990s. Named by E. Frey, M. C. Buchy, W. Stinnesbeck, A. González and A. di Stefano in 2006. Lived: 89.8 to 86.3 million years ago during the Coniacian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now northern Mexico.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 16, 2024 5:45:57 GMT
Name: QuetzalcoatlusPronunciation: Kwet-zal-co-at-lus. Meaning of name: Named after Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec feathered serpent god. Species: Q. northropiWingspan: Estimated to have measured between 10 and 11 metres. Weighed between 200 and 250kgs. Family: Azhdarchidae Diet: Carnivore First fossils found: Known from at least four partial skeletons, the first of which was discovered by palaeontologist, Douglas A. Lawson, in Big Bend National Park, Texas, in 1971. Named by Mr. Lawson in 1975. Was originally thought to have had a wingspan of between 15 and 20 metres, however, studies have now lowered the estimated wingspan to 11 metres. Lived: 68 million years ago during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now the south-central United States.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 17, 2024 2:57:29 GMT
Name: KunpengopterusPronunciation: Kun-peng-op-teh-rus Meaning of name: "Kun Peng wing" Species: K. sinensis, K. antipollicatusWingspan: Uncertain, but is estimated to have measured around 1 metre. Family: Wukongopteridae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known from two almost-complete skeletons, the first of which was discovered in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning Province, northeast China. K. sinensis named by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Jiang Shunxing, Cheng Xin, Meng Xi and Taissa Rodrigues in 2010. K. antipollicatus named by Xuanyu Zhou in 2021. Lived: 154 million years ago during the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic in what is now northeast China.
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 18, 2024 4:48:53 GMT
Today's entry is the largest-known Jurassic pterosaur: Name: DearcPronunciation: Jark Meaning of name: "Reptile" Species: D. sgiathanachWingspan: Estimated to have measured up to 3.8 metres Family: Rhamphorhynchidae Diet: Piscivore First fossils found: Known only from a single, almost complete skeleton thought to belong to either a juvenile or a sub-adult, discovered by Amelia Penny in the Lealt Shale Formation on the the Isle of Skye, northwest Scotland. Named by Natalia Jagielska, Michael O’Sullivan, Gregory F. Funston in 2022. Lived: 168.3 to 166.1 million years ago during the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic in what is now northwest Scotland. Artist's impression of Dearc
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Post by Talira Greycrest on Mar 19, 2024 3:21:40 GMT
Name: DsungaripterusPronunciation: Sung-ah-rip-teh-rus Meaning of name: "Junggar Basin wing", after the place where its fossils were discovered. Species: D. weiiWingspan: Estimated to have measured between 3 and 3.5 metres Family: Dsungaripteridae Diet: Shellfish First fossils found: Known from a partial skeleton and some almost-complete skulls discovered in the Junggar Basin of northwest China. Named by Chinese palaeontologist, Yang Zhongjian, in 1964. Lived: 140 to 100.5 million years ago from the Berriasian stage through to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous in what is now northwest China. D. weii skull at the Paleozoological Museum of China.
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