Dimorphodon | Facts & Information

About 190 million years ago, in the Mesozoic era, during the Lower Jurassic period lived on the supercontinent Pangea one of the first flying dinosaurs pterosaurians called Dimorphodon. This flying reptile was ranked in the category of long-tailed flying dinosaurs.

In 1998 other fossil remains were found in the Upper Jurassic strata of Tamaulipas – a state in the northeastern part of Mexico-and the species was named Dimorphodon weintraubi. At the Natural History Museum in London, most of the fossils of this dinosaur are exhibited.

The name Dimorphodon referred to The Shape of the dinosaur's teeth, which in the anterior part of the jaws were large, sharp and thick, and in the rear were smaller and numerous. The lower jaw comprised about 30 small, thin and sharp teeth. The skull of this dinosaur was very large compared to the size of the body. The researchers estimated the length of an adult Dimorphodon to be 1 m, weight 500 g and wing span of 1.2 m.

Head

The very long and large head measured about 20 cm, the neck was quite short but thick, wide orbits show that it had good visual acuity, could accurately appreciate the distances to the prey, whether it was on the ground or in flight. The large volume of the skull shows that it had a developed brain, and the conformation of the wings demonstrates the ability to perform an active flight, similar to bats.

Bot

The snout impresses with its very large thickness, and the dentition – adapted to catch slippery prey – indicates that the food of this dinosaur was made up of both small animals, insects but especially fish, it lived mainly in areas near the banks of waters.

Limbs

The forelimbs and hind limbs were very strong, ending with long fingers with sharp and curved claws, which helped him to climb and run easily on the rocks, from where he took off like a kite. The rigid tail, long and straight, with a skin fold at the end used as a rudder, it helps maintain balance and flight position. The hind limbs were robust and muscular, with their help they moved very quickly on the ground as well as on steep rocks.

Feeding Dimorphodon

It had the ability to catch small vertebrates and insects both on the ground and in flight, and the talent to mimic the sounds emitted by other dinosaurs.