The Function of the Cranial Crest and Jaws of a Unique Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil

2002/07/19 by Alexander W. A. Kellner, Diógenes de Almeida Campos · 7 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Rostrum #Crest #Skull #Anatomy #Cretaceous #Biology #Paleontology #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1073186

openalex publication_date 2002/07/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

The discovery of a previously undescribed pterosaur, Thalassodromeus sethi, yields information on the function of cranial crests and the feeding strategy developed by these extinct flying reptiles. The material consists of a large skull (length: 1420 millimeters, including the crest) with a huge bony crest that was well irrigated by blood vessels and may have been used for regulation of its body temperature. The rostrum consists of two bladelike laminae, the arrangement of which is analogous to the condition found in the bird Rynchops, which skims over the water to catch food, indicating that T. sethi also may have been a skimmer.

Citations

• A new giant pterosaur with a robust skull from the latest Cretaceous of Romania
• Sexual dimorphism ofPteranodonand other pterosaurs, with comments on cranial crests
• The Osteology and Functional Morphology of the Late Cretaceous Pterosaur Pteranodon Part I. General Description of Osteology

Cited by

• Cranial crest development in the Azhdarchoid pterosaur Tupuxuara, with a review of the genus and tapejarid monophyly
• New postcranial elements of the Thalassodrominae (Pterodactyloidea, Tapejaridae) from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian–Albian), Santana Group, Araripe Basin, Brazil
• Did Pterosaurs Feed by Skimming? Physical Modelling and Anatomical Evaluation of an Unusual Feeding Method
• Form, Function, and the Flight of the Pterosaur
• A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil
• Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Crest with Membrane Attachment on Cretaceous Pterodactyloid Nyctosaurus
• Thalassodromeus [wikipedia]