#preondactylus

Preondactylus buffarinii was a tiny pterosaur native to Late Triassic Italy. The holotype had a wingspan of 45 cm (1.48 ft), though a second referred specimen had an estimated wingspan of 1.5 m (4.9 ft), which would mean the holotype is likely a juvenile. However, it is debated that the second specimen may not be the same species. Preondactylus had single-pointed teeth, and likely preyed on fish, arthropods, or both. It is known for its short, “primitive” wings, though it was still considered a capable flier. Some consider Preondactylus to be the most basal flying pterosaur, and it may be the oldest known.

In this month

- After a few minutes holding his breath, David must swim up, but he immediately bumps into a Crassigyrinus

- The morning choir of Toføten has a new sound on the air as Lydia makes her presence known with a sweet tune, one that attracts a few creatures, including a family of Kentrosaurus

- Two Desmatosuchus get ready to fight for a pile of leaves Twig chose as a hiding spot

- The bellkeeper and Louise have come to a beach on Toføten at night to film an unusual behavior: Deinonychus hunting from a tree

- Woodman's head has become the hiding spot for some fish who attempt to be out of the sight of some Preondactylus

DID IT! Beans updated~

From the top:

Yutyrannus - Talbot

Parasaurolophus - Niobe

Ceratosaurus - Charri

Dilophosaurus - Notch

Tenontosaurus - Leffy <3

Styracosaurus - Penma

Pachycephalosaurs - Siwa

Deinonychus - Nevr

Cryolophosaurus (juvie) - Acer

Velociraptor - Pidge

Sinosauropteryx - Sinno

Preondactylus - Cricket

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

A reminder that we will not be able to do every pterosaur until we reach $240 in donations on our patreon, so please donate even a dollar if you can.

Name: Preondactylus bufarinii

Name Meaning: Preon Finger

First Described: 1983

Described By: Wild

Classification: Avemetatarsalia, Ornithodira, Pterosauromorpha, Pterosauria, Eupterosauria

HAPPY PTEROSAUR PTUESDAY!

Our first Pterosaur Proper! Preondactylus is one of the earliest known pterosaurs, and one of the earliest derived, indicating that the group probably originated in Europe - specifically, Italy, where many early Pterosaurs have been found (so we have Scleromochlus from Scotland and Preondactylus from Italy, and I’m half Scottish and half Italian... hmmm...). It is known from three specimens that shows it has very short wings, which seems to be the condition that early pterosaurs had, and longer wings would be evolved later. 

By Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0

Preondactylus is known from most of the skeleton, but the back of the skull has not been preserved, though it can be reasonably reconstructed based on close relatives. It was originally classified as being closely related to Rhamphornychus, a pterosaur that, while early derived, isn’t earliest derived, and has since been reclassified. It lived close to the sea, and it had simple teeth, allowing for it to feed mainly on insects. It was found in the Dolomia di Forni Formation, in the Preone Valley of Italy, and it lived about 228 million years ago, in the Carnian age of the Late Triassic. 

Sources:

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

https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/

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

I needed some low stress doodles and ended up making little crayon style chibis of all my dinosaurs <33

They ended up as great little avatars for my toyhouse folder lol I have three more dinosaurs that are WIPS, so I'll probably end up adding them later (Spinosaurus, parasaurolophus & dilophosaurus)

The kids:

Penma~ the old lady styracaceous / ceratopsian mix

Bananana Ceratosaurus Charri

New best fluffsy Tyrannosaurus Pink~

Siwa my cactus carrying pachycephalosaurs

Pidge the brightly feathery fluff velociraptor

Talbot a good ol fluffy Yutyrannus

Nevr~ Deinonychus; the true clever girl

Leffy best Tenontosaurus, aka pure joy

precious bby Acer, a maple leaf Cryolophosaurus

Sinno! Lil herb collector Sinosauropteryx

Fisch, a happy flappy Tapejara gal <3

Itty bitty baby Cricket, Preondactylus bean