- Harpactognathus
Taxobox
name = "Harpactognathus"
fossil_range =Late Jurassic
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Pterosauria
subordo =Rhamphorhynchoidea
familia =Rhamphorhynchidae
genus = "Harpactognathus"
species = "H. gentryii"
binomial = "Harpactognathus gentryii"
binomial_authority = Carpenter, Unwin, Cloward, Clifford Miles, and Clark Miles, 2003"Harpactognathus" (meaning "seizing/grasping jaws") was a
genus ofpterosaur found in theLate Jurassic -ageMorrison Formation of Albany County,Wyoming ,USA . It is based on NAMAL 101, a partial skull consisting of the snout, recovered from nearBone Cabin Quarry in 1996. The species name honors the discoverer, Joe Gentry, a volunteer for the Western Paleontological Laboratories, in Lehi,Utah .Carpenter, K., Unwin, D.M., Cloward, K., Miles, C.A., and Miles, C. (2003). [https://scientists.dmns.org/sites/kencarpenter/PDFs%20of%20publications/Harpactognathus.pdf A new scaphognathine pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic Formation of Wyoming, USA.] In: Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.- M. (eds.). "Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs." Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217:45-54.]Its describers found it to be most similar to "
Scaphognathus " among pterosaurs, albeit substantially larger (estimated skull length of 280-300 mm (11-12 in), estimatedwingspan of 2.5 m (8.2 ft)). Because of the similarity, "Harpactognathus" was assigned to the subfamily Scaphognathinae of the familyRhamphorhynchidae . This genus is also notable for having a low bony crest run all the way to the tip of thebeak (pterosaur bone crests usually don't go all the way to the tip), and for being the oldest known Morrison Formation pterosaur, having been found in the Salt Wash Member.Paleobiology
As a rhamphorhynchid, "Harpactognathus" would have been an aerial
predator of small prey.References
External links
* [http://www.pterosaur.co.uk/species/UJP/rhamph/Harpactognathus.htm "Harpactognathus"] in The Pterosaur Database
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