Dsungaripterus

Dsungaripterus was a pterosaur with 10 feet (3 m) wide leathery wings.

Description

It had an unusual bony crest running along its snout and had long, narrow, curved jaws with a pointed tip. The crest may have acted as a rudder when flying or may have been a sexual characteristic. It had flat teeth at the back of the jaws, probably for crushing the shells of its prey. It was not a dinosaur, but a type of extinct, flying reptile. They were lightly built with hollow bones, long, curved necks, long skulls, and small bodies. They had large brains and good eyesight. Dsungaripterus wings were covered by a leathery membrane. This thin but tough membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongated fourth fingers, forming the structure of the wing. Claws protruded from the other fingers.Dsungaripterus lived during the early Cretaceous period.

The birds evolved during the Jurassic period and were probably competition for the pterodactyloids, including Dsungaripterus.Dsungaripterus was a carnivore It probably ate fish (which it caught at the surface of the oceans), mollusks, crabs, perhaps plankton (for some species), insects, and scavenged dead animals on land.Dsungaripterus probably flew long distances using large, light-weight wings.Dsungaripterus fossils have been found in China. It was named by Young in 1964.