This flying reptile lived in the Mesozoic era, in the Upper Jurassic, about 155-140 million years ago.
An adult specimen had a length of 5 cm, a weight of 10 g and a wingspan of 50 cm.
It populated the forested areas near the water banks and was a great hunter for insects, such as crickets and dragonflies.
They were often caught on the fly, chewed in their sharp teeth and then swallowed.
Description
Although the species was classified in the category of long-tailed flying dinosaurs, Anurognathus had a relatively short but perfect tail to give it mobility, flexibility and stability during flight, but also the ability to ignite prey faster. It is the smallest flying dinosaur.
The head was sturdy, tall and short, compared to the size of the body, and the brain developed enough to give the animal the opportunity to coordinate its movements with great precision during flight. The mouth could be opened wide, and the jaws were provided with many conical, sharp teeth, positioned at a certain distance from each other. The neck was short and thick, well inserted in the area between the head and body.
The wings were long and the big eyes showed that the dinosaur could hunt very well in the twilight. As in other flying dinosaurs, the wings developed from the front limbs, the patagium extended from the last finger (the fourth from the forelegs), and the other three ended with sharp claws and had the role of hook and grip.
The patagium stretched perfectly to the ankle of the hind limbs so that their paws remained free. This allowed the dinosaur to lean on its hind paws and large, curved claws, especially when resting or when preparing to soar in flight.
Body weight was greatly diminished by the fact that the bones were hollow and had very thin walls. Moreover, the bones had small holes that were connected with the air bags of the lungs.
This made a good circulation of oxygen, as well as a balancing of the temperature in the muscles during the flight. In flight, it was excellent, allowing itself to be carried by the wind, but on the ground it moved slowly due to the poorly developed muscles of the hind limbs.
Feeding Dinosaur Anurognathus
Some researchers support the idea that this insectivore also fed on parasites on the skin of large dinosaurs. Others, however, disagree with this idea because they believe the animal had too short a skull for this purpose.
