Pteranodon

Pteranodon (do grego: πτερόν (pteron, "alado"; e ἀνόδων (anodon, "sen dentes"; ou "alado sen dentes") é un xénero de pterosauros pterodactiloideos, sendo un dos réptiles alados máis grandes que se coñecen, cunha envergadura de arredor de sete metros. Viviu durante o período xeolóxico do Cretáceo superior e os seus restos fósiles foron atopados en América do Norte, nos actuais territorios de Kansas, Alabama, Nebrasca, Wyoming e Dacota do Sur. Descubríronse moitos espécimes fósiles de Pteranodon, con máis de 1 200 espécimes coñecidos pola ciencia, supoñendo máis que calquera outro tipo de pterosauro. Moitos deles estaban moi ben preservados con esqueletos articulados e caveiras case completas. Foi un membro importante da fauna do mar interior occidental.^[1]

Pteranodon Rango fósil: Cretáceo superior 86 Ma-84,5 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Réplica de un esqueleto de un P. longiceps macho, Museo Americano de Historia Natural
Clasificación científica
Reino: Animalia Filo: Chordata Clase: Sauropsida Orde: Pterosauria Suborde: Pterodactyloidea Superfamilia: Ornithocheiroidea Familia: Pteranodontidae Xénero: Pteranodon † Marsh, 1876
Especies
P. longiceps Marsh, 1876 (Especie tipo) P. sternbergi? Harksen, 1966
Sinonimia
Occidentalia Miller, 1972 Geosternbergia? Miller, 1978 Longicepia Miller, 1978 Dawndraco? Kellner, 2010

Características

Carecía practicamente de cola; a súa cabeza era máis ancha que a das formas xurásicas, cunha prolongación a modo de crista e sen dentes. A súa gran crista na parte posterior da cabeza probablemente axudáballe a equilibrar o peso do pico e da pesca. Pesou ata 20 kg e mediu ata 9 m de envergadura. As súas patas eran tan débiles que se dubida de que puidesen andar polo chan.

Dieta

A súa dieta era piscívora (atopouse ósos fosilizados de peixes no estómago dun espécime). Seguramente empregaba o seu longo pico a modo de pa para capturar peces mentres voaba preto da superficie do mar. Unha bolsa baixo o pico permitíalle almacenar peixe, como o pelicano actual.

Especies

Describíronse varias especies de Pteranodon, aínda que non todas están ben fundamentadas. As mellor establecidas distínguense pola forma da crista; en Pteranodon longiceps é recta e diríxese cara a atrás, mentres que en Pteranodon sternbergi é máis vertical e profunda.

Notas

1. Bennett, S.C. (2000). "Inferring stratigraphic position of fossil vertebrates from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas." Current Research in Earth Sciences: Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin, 244(Part 1): 26 pp.

Véxase tamén

Wikimedia Commons ten máis contidos multimedia na categoría:  Pteranodon

Bibliografía

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• Harksen, J. C. (1966). "Pteranodon sternbergi, a new fossil pterodactyl from the Niobrara Cretaceous of Kansas". Proceedings South Dakota Academy of Science 45: 74–77.
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Ligazóns externas

• Pteranodon – A Photographic Atlas – at Oceans of Kansas Paleontology (en inglés)
• Documented finding of a young male Pteranodon sternbergi (Oceans of Kansas Paleontology) (en inglés)