#moganopterus

Archovember Day 18: Moganopterus zhuiana

By Joschua Knüppe, retrieved from http://www.pteros.com/, a website dedicated to education about Pterosaurs.

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Name: Moganopterus zhuiana

Name Meaning: Mo & Gan’s Wing

First Described: 2012

Described By: Lü et al. 

Classification: Avemetatarsalia, Ornithodira, Pterosauromorpha, Pterosauria, Macronychoptera, Novialoidea, Breviquartossa, Pterodactylomorpha, Monofenestrata, Pterodactyliformes, Caelidracones, Pterodactyloidea, Archaeopterodactyloidea, Euctenochasmatia, Ctenochasmatoidea, Ctenochasmatidae, Gnathosaurinae

Moganopterus was a large Ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of China, living about 125 million years ago, in the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous. It had a wingspan of around 6 meters, with the largest skull of any toothed pterosaur of nearly a meter long. It, like other Ctenochasmatids, was a filter feeder, with many comb-like teeth. It also had a ridiculously long neck like other members of its group, though it’s only known from the skull and neck vertebrae, this was enough to show that it would have had a thin and lengthy neck. This would have allowed for it to reach for more food than shorter-necked species, as it filter fed in its forested environment. It also had a display crest on its head, though the exact shape of this crest is unclear. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moganopterus

http://www.pteros.com/pterosaurs/moganopterus.html