Rhamphorhynchus (/ˌræmfəˈrɪŋkəs/,[1] from Ancient Greek rhamphos meaning "beak" and rhynchus meaning "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 soft-tissue tail vane. The mouth 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.[2]
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.[3]
^"Rhamphorhynchus". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
^Frey, E.; Tischlinger, H. (2012). "The Late Jurassic pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus, a frequent victim of the ganoid fish Aspidorhynchus?". PLOS ONE. 7 (3): e31945. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...731945F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031945. PMC 3296705. PMID 22412850.
^Rhamphorhynchus. In: Cranfield, Ingrid (ed.). The Illustrated Directory of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. London: Salamander Books, Ltd. Pp. 302-305.
in Rhamphorhynchus abdominal contents, as well as in their coprolites. Although fragmentary fossil remains possibly belonging to Rhamphorhynchus have...
of an Aspidorhynchus pass through the wings of the Rhamphorhynchus specimen. The Rhamphorhynchus also has the remains of a small fish, possibly Leptolepides...
Campylognathididae (Eudimorphodon, Campyognathoides), and Rhamphorhynchidae (Rhamphorhynchus, Scaphognathus). Pterodactyloids include the clades Ornithocheiroidea...
Garay transferred the species to a new, monotypic genus, Rhamphorhynchus, as Rhamphorhynchus mendoncae. In 2008, Paul Ormerod concluded that the genus...
mammal from Asia Archaeopteryx, the first known bird, from Europe Rhamphorhynchus a long-tailed pterosaur from Europe Pterodactylus, a short-tailed pterosaur...
Rhamphorhynchidae is a group of early pterosaurs named after Rhamphorhynchus, that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Rhamphorhynchidae was named...
most notable cases are Pterodaustro (inferred via gastroliths) and Rhamphorhynchus (directly preserved). Conversely, it is thought that some extinct birds...
with better sampled taxa, in this case Rhamphorhynchus and Dorygnathus. Using the proportions of Rhamphorhynchus, an estimated wingspan between 2.2 meters...
ruled by the Mahars, a species of intelligent pterosaurs resembling Rhamphorhynchus with vast psychic powers. The Mahars use telekinesis on the neighboring...
strata near Eichstätt. In 1858 Johann Wagner referred the species to Rhamphorhynchus. After recognising the fundamentally different snout shape, Wagner...
taken over by the overzealous Kingsor, he is carried off by a giant Rhamphorhynchus. After killing the pterosaur, he finds Sanna and her tamed dinosaur...
Special Publications 217) and defined it as Eudimorphodon ranzii, Rhamphorhynchus muensteri, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants...
Qinglongopterus guoi. Qinglongopterus is noted to be remarkably similar to Rhamphorhynchus, although Qinglongopterus has a proportionally smaller head and shorter...
Archaeopteryx: A prehistoric bird seen flying around the island. Rhamphorhynchus: A prehistoric flying pterosaur seen flying around the island. Styracosaurus:...
seven genera have been found. The pterosaurs included species such as Rhamphorhynchus belonging to the Rhamphorhynchidae, the group which dominated the ecological...
was according to David Unwin related to the Late Jurassic pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus and was a contemporary of Campylognathoides in Holzmaden and Ohmden...
looked into the growth rates of pterosaurs. With the fossils found of Rhamphorhynchus, he was able to see that all bones that were preserved on few-day-old...
long bony tail may have been a diamond-shaped flap like in the later Rhamphorhynchus. If so, the flap may have helped it steer while maneuvering in the...
the earliest bird Archaeopteryx lithographica (1861), the pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus, and the prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus. In Palaeologica, Meyer...
characters. The matrix includes 39 valid pterosaur species, although Rhamphorhynchus longicaudus and Nyctosaurus bonneri are usually considered to be synonymous...
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