Dermodactylus
Encyclopedia
Dermodactylus was a genus
of pterodactyloid (general term for "short-tailed" pterosaur) pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian
-Tithonian
-age Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
of Wyoming
, USA. It is based on
a single partial bone, from the hand.
right fourth metacarpal found by Samuel Wendell Williston
at Como Bluff
. This bone constituted at the time the oldest pterosaur remains found, recognized, and described from North America
. Othniel Charles Marsh
first named it as a species of Pterodactylus
: P. montanus, the specific name meaning "from the mountains" in Latin
, but soon changed his mind and gave it a new generic name. At the same time he assigned another wing bone, teeth, vertebrae, and a scapula
coracoid to it, but this material is probably too large to belong to the type individual.
Its place within the Pterosauria is uncertain, beyond the Pterodactyloidea
. The material it is based on is too meager for further classification (although Carpenter et al.. [2003] note that the shape of the bone's articular end means that it did not belong to an ornithocheirid
, a type of short-tailed pterosaur that often had a head crest and/or large teeth), or for adding additional remains to the genus with any certainty, and so it is now regarded as a dubious
pterodactyloid. It was not even mentioned in the most recent major popular work on pterosaurs.
of 1.5-1.8 meters (5-6 feet), but this is including the material excluded by Peter Wellnhofer, who estimates the wingspan of the only known individual at 1 meter (3.28 feet). John Foster estimates its weight
at 3.3 kilograms (7.3 pounds). It would probably have been a small aerial
carnivore
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of pterodactyloid (general term for "short-tailed" pterosaur) pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian
Kimmeridgian
In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age or stage in the Late or Upper Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 155.7 ± 4 Ma and 150.8 ± 4 Ma . The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian and precedes the Tithonian....
-Tithonian
Tithonian
In the geologic timescale the Tithonian is the latest age of the Late Jurassic epoch or the uppermost stage of the Upper Jurassic series. It spans the time between 150.8 ± 4 Ma and 145.5 ± 4 Ma...
-age Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, USA. It is based on
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
a single partial bone, from the hand.
History and classification
Dermodactylus is based on YPM 2000, a distalAnatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are designations employed in science that deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities that might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
right fourth metacarpal found by Samuel Wendell Williston
Samuel Wendell Williston
Samuel Wendell Williston was an American educator and paleontologist who was the first to propose that birds developed flight cursorially , rather than arboreally . He was also an entomologist, specialising in Diptera.-Early life:Williston was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Samuel Williston and...
at Como Bluff
Como Bluff
Como Bluff is a long ridge extending east-west, located between the towns of Rock River and Medicine Bow, Wyoming. The ridge is an anticline, formed as a result of compressional geological folding. Three geological formations, the Sundance, the Morrison, and the Cloverly Formations, containing...
. This bone constituted at the time the oldest pterosaur remains found, recognized, and described from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of news species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education...
first named it as a species of Pterodactylus
Pterodactylus
Pterodactylus is a genus of pterosaurs, whose members are popularly known as pterodactyls. It was the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile...
: P. montanus, the specific name meaning "from the mountains" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, but soon changed his mind and gave it a new generic name. At the same time he assigned another wing bone, teeth, vertebrae, and a scapula
Scapula
In anatomy, the scapula , omo, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus with the clavicle ....
coracoid to it, but this material is probably too large to belong to the type individual.
Its place within the Pterosauria is uncertain, beyond the Pterodactyloidea
Pterodactyloidea
Pterodactyloidea forms one of the two suborders of pterosaurs , and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles...
. The material it is based on is too meager for further classification (although Carpenter et al.. [2003] note that the shape of the bone's articular end means that it did not belong to an ornithocheirid
Ornithocheiridae
Ornithocheiridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were among the last pterosaurs to possess teeth.-Classification:Listing of genera after Unwin , except where noted.* Family Ornithocheiridae** ?Aetodactylus...
, a type of short-tailed pterosaur that often had a head crest and/or large teeth), or for adding additional remains to the genus with any certainty, and so it is now regarded as a dubious
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
pterodactyloid. It was not even mentioned in the most recent major popular work on pterosaurs.
Paleobiology
Marsh suggested it had a wingspanWingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
of 1.5-1.8 meters (5-6 feet), but this is including the material excluded by Peter Wellnhofer, who estimates the wingspan of the only known individual at 1 meter (3.28 feet). John Foster estimates its weight
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
at 3.3 kilograms (7.3 pounds). It would probably have been a small aerial
Flying and gliding animals
A number of animals have evolved aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding. Flying and gliding animals have evolved separately many times, without any single ancestor. Flight has evolved at least four times, in the insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Gliding has evolved on many...
carnivore
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
.