[Paleontology • 2015]
A Specimen of Rhamphorhynchus with Soft Tissue Preservation, Stomach Contents and A Putative Coprolite
Rhamphorhynchus, a long-tailed pterosaur, hypothetically feeding on squid. |
Abstract
Despite being known for nearly two centuries, new specimens of the derived non-pterodactyloid pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus continue
to be discovered and reveal new information about their anatomy and
palaeobiology. Here we describe a specimen held in the collections of
the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Alberta, Canada that shows
both preservation and impressions of soft tissues, and also preserves
material interpreted as stomach contents of vertebrate remains and,
uniquely, a putative coprolite. The specimen also preserves additional
evidence for fibers in the uropatagium.
Figure 1: Specimen TMP 2008.41.001 of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri.
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1191
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Locality Information: Solnhofen, Schernfeld quarry, from Bavaria, Southern Germany.
Systematic Palaeontology
Pterosauria Kaup, 1834
Rhamphorhynchidae Seeley, 1870
Rhamphorhynchus Von Meyer, 1847
R. muensteri Goldfuss, 1831
Numerous pterosaur specimens had been found previously, preserving fish
remains in their gut, indicating these animals lived near water bodies
and fed on fishes. This particular Rhamphorhynchus specimen is
the first to preserve the remains of a fish, shark, and potential
tetrapod (i.e., a four-legged animal) in its stomach, and a coprolite
filled with strange hooklets. Although the identities of the material
preserved in the stomach and coprolite could not be determined, they
reveal that Rhamphorhynchus did not feed exclusively on fish. This
spectacular specimen gives researchers unique insight into dietary and
ecological traits of this small Late Jurassic pterosaur.
David Hone, Donald M. Henderson, François Therrien and Michael B. Habib. 2015. A Specimen of Rhamphorhynchus with Soft Tissue Preservation, Stomach Contents and A Putative Coprolite. PeerJ. 3:e1191. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1191
LOOK: Stunning 'Paleoart' Will Beam You Back Into A Ferocious Prehistoric World http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/12/paleoart-julius-csotonyi-illustrations_n_5226787.html via @HuffPostScience
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