Sordes

Taxobox
name = "Sordes"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Late Jurassic


image_caption = Scale model of "Sordes pilosus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Pterosauria
subordo = Rhamphorhynchoidea
familia = Rhamphorhynchidae
genus = "Sordes"
species = "S. pilosus"
binomial = "Sordes pilosus"
binomial_authority = Sharov, 1971

"Sordes" (meaning "devil" in Greek) was a small pterosaur that lived in the late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic era. "Sordes" lived in the in the area of Kazakhstan. It belonged to the family Rhamphorynchidae. These were the earliest of the pterosaurs, evolving in the late Triassic and surviving to the late Jurassic. Rhamphorynchids were small pterosaurs ranging from 0.30 to 0.90 meters (1 foot to 3 feet) in length. Their teeth were tiny, so "Sordes" and other Rhamphorynchids probably ate insects and amphibians.When "Sordes" was discovered in 1971, paleontologists found tiny, dense hairs on the body imprinted in the rock. This supported the theory that pterosaurs probably did have a layer of down fur. The hair found on the "Sordes" skeleton served as insulation and provided a streamlined flight profile. But scientists were confused at why pterosaur fossils found in Germany, having the best preserved fossils, yielded no fur.

"Sordes" had a 0.45 m (1.5 feet) wingspan. It had a slender, not round, head with long, pointed jaws. Its teeth were small and slanted. It had a thick and compacted neck. It had a long tail, accounting for over half its length. Unlike most pterosaurs, it had no head crest. "Sordes" had wing membranes attached to the legs and a membrane between the legs.

External links

* [http://triunecommunications.com/fossilsmith/images/sordes2.jpgArtistic reconstruction of a "Sordes pilosus" at the Fossilsmith Studios]
* [http://www.paleo.ru/museum/img/large/28.jpgA fossil of a "Sordes" at paleo.ru]
* [http://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/ptero/sordes.htm Article and picture of "Sordes"]