Ctenochasma roemeri, C. elegans, C. taqueti
By Chris Masnaghetti, retrieved from http://www.pteros.com/, a website dedicated to education about Pterosaurs.
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Name: Ctenochasma roemeri, C. elegans, C. taqueti
Name Meaning: Comb Jaw
First Described: 1852
Described By: Meyer
Classification: Avemetatarsalia, Ornithodira, Pterosauromorpha, Pterosauria, Macronychoptera, Novialoidea, Breviquartossa, Pterodactylomorpha, Monofenestrata, Pterodactyliformes, Caelidracones, Pterodactyloidea, Archaeopterodactyloidea, Euctenochasmatia, Ctenochasmatoidea, Ctenochasmatidae, Ctenochasmatinae
Ctenochasma is another interesting pterosaur, primarily because of the many closely packed teeth in its elongated and narrow jaw. These teeth formed a comb, leading to its name, and imply a filter feeding lifestyle like in its cousin Pterodaustro. It lived around 150 to 145 million years ago, in the Tithonian age of the Late Cretaceous, and is known from the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, as well as the Purbeck Group of Germany and the Calcaires tâchetés of France. It had a wingspan of about 0.7 meters, making it a fairly small pterosaur, but that was more common in the Jurassic than later forms in the Cretaceous. C. elegans, on the other hand, was even smaller, with a 0.25 meter long wingspan. Many specimens are known from this genus of a variety of ages. The jaws curved upward slightly, forming a spoon at the end, so it could scoop up invertebrates for food in its lagoon-dominated environment. They had crests on their heads as adults that would have been used for display. It may have floan much like modern skuas, given its wing shape.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenochasma
http://www.pteros.com/pterosaurs/ctenochasma.html
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