tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23359455857088451002024-03-06T20:01:46.437+00:00The Pterosaur DatabaseThis web log is aimed at people who have an interest in fossil pterosaurs. Its purpose is to develop themes associated with The Pterosaur Database website in a structured and informative way.Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-50408353389305658692020-01-04T12:05:00.004+00:002020-01-04T12:05:47.629+00:00Scientific PapersDuring 2019, many researchers started to put older papers on line. The deposits in data holding sites are becoming more easily available as more information is stored centrally.
Here is a list of some of the best sites for obtaining copies of scientific papers. A membership or enrolment is often required before papers can be downloaded. Basic facilities are occasionally free ofPterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-18960262180486173902018-12-19T19:39:00.000+00:002018-12-19T19:43:08.451+00:00Pterosaur FeathersFor a long time it has been known that some pterosaurs have hair. This has been seen as pycnofibers in some fossils. It is only with the advent of better quality fossils and improved techniques that the nature of these hairs is being better understood. This is documented in the following paper:
Yang Z., Jiang B., McNamara M. E., Kearnes S. L., Pittman M., Kaye T. G., Orr P. J.,Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-24739097596369254052018-02-03T12:12:00.000+00:002018-02-06T13:10:04.735+00:00Pterosaur T-ShirtStudio 252MYA has a range of T-shirts, some of which have pterosaur motifs. They are on sale over the Internet from the US, and can be mailed to most parts of the world.
They start at $22 US and there is postage and tax to add to the cost if you are outside of the US. These are the first pterosaur related T-shirts that I have been satisfied with and they come in a variety ofPterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-58754314943634333892017-07-06T09:48:00.003+01:002017-07-06T16:07:19.074+01:00Wukongopterus LiiThe "Dinosaurs of China" exhibition is now open at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham. This is an exceptional chance to see some of the most important fossil finds from China at first hand. The most interesting specimen for me was not the immense casts of the large sauropod and raptor dinosaurs, but the last fossil in the display - The pterosaur Wukongopterus lii.
This specimen is held in a Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-19606588877924620762017-06-30T18:57:00.002+01:002017-06-30T19:24:28.249+01:00The Lapworth Museum of Geology
I have not had any contact with the Lapworth Museum at Birmingham University Edgbaston Campus since the mid 1980's. This museum has seen a significant improvement in many respects since then and is well worth a visit. The University railway station is a short walk away and it can be accessed from Redditch, Birmingham New Street or Litchfield.
There is a striking life Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-81000033742599699792017-05-09T19:50:00.000+01:002017-10-06T18:31:27.725+01:00The Biddulph Grange Gardens PterosaurOn a recent visit to Biddulph Grange Gardens I was looking at the progress in the geology gallery when I spotted a pterosaur skull on a cast of a lithographic limestone slab. This was a pterosaur fossil that I had not been aware of. After contacting the grange, I
was put in touch with Daniel Atherton, who is part of the restoration
project responsible for the refurbishment of the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611957366052160839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-1826688196465006472017-04-02T10:00:00.001+01:002017-04-02T10:01:15.622+01:00Dinosaur Plate
I recently found this plate at the Emma Bridgewater factory shop in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. It has been decorated using a sponge print method by hand, showing a sauropod dinosaur surrounded by 8 pterosaurs. On the back rim can be seen a circle of brown trilobites.
This appears to be a one off design as it has not appeared on the factory stock sheets. There is a decorating studioPterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-72597615462647677232016-09-14T19:02:00.002+01:002016-09-14T19:10:06.446+01:00Jurassic KitesThis summer I found a kite design by a company called Jurassic Kites. Having sent for one, just for fun, I had go. The design was developed by Sibyl King and it is manufactured by Peterkin UK Ltd.
The kite comes neatly folded in a thin sleeve and is ready harnessed, just needing two pins fixing to brace the wings and a line (supplied) attaching to the harness loop.
&Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-64579716545214956952016-08-27T16:04:00.001+01:002017-04-22T09:07:02.793+01:00Gordon Cullen
In 1958, a tile wall mural was commissions for the lower precinct in Coventry. It represented much of the history of the city. The work was undertaken by Gordon Cullen and installed during the redevelopment in 1958.
As part of the mural, there is a wall showing prehistoric creatures. One is a representation of a pterosaur.
This could be of Dimorphodon macronys, though Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611957366052160839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-54336240738104738862016-06-28T20:41:00.002+01:002016-06-28T20:41:40.390+01:00Pterosaurs at Liverpool
Having recently visited the Liverpool World Museum to see the cast of Quetzalcoatlus northropi suspended in the Foyer, I saw a number of specimens on display in the galleries. The specimen in the foyer is big and imposing.
In the education centre was a cast of a Tropiognathus skull. This was a substantial sized pterosaur.
A lone Rhamphocephalus bucklandi tooth Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611957366052160839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-12483080555975137352015-10-15T18:57:00.000+01:002016-01-04T18:59:41.483+00:00Humerus crestsThe large deltoid process in pterosaur humeri show a great degree of variation between species and families. Early Rhamphorhynchoid species tend to have deep, long and flat deltoid processes whilst later species show a narrowing and extending of this process. Later pterodactyloid species tend towards a curved deltoid process on the Humerus.
This shows an example of some of the typesPterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-48214807862162865172015-04-20T08:42:00.001+01:002016-01-03T10:22:58.742+00:00Web server issuesThe Pterosaur Database has experienced a server file loss on the morning of the 19th April 2015. The cause was an internal problem. About half of the files have been restored and the site is working in part. It is hoped that all function will be restored in the next two days. Alas, there is no backup server for this "free to use" site.
2 days on: The server content has Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-41018181416790947082015-04-07T19:47:00.002+01:002015-04-07T19:47:32.934+01:00The bare bonesAnna Chekovsky has requested permission to translate some of the pages of this blog into French at http://www.teilestore.de/edu/ . Initially there was an issue with copyright of images and permissions had to be sought. In the process, this put me back in touch with Bruce Mohn, the well renowned skeletal reproduction sculptor. His portfolio of work has expanded considerably sincePterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-37440675785093536772015-02-13T11:47:00.000+00:002015-02-13T12:20:26.331+00:00Wisbech and Fenland Specimens
Wisbech and Fenland Museum was first opened in 1847 in its present form. It is amongst the oldest purpose built museums in the UK and the character of its galleries are typically Victorian in essence. However, the museum functions as a sophisticated modern organisation in all other respects. This is a museum not to be missed if you are within travelling distance.
Behind the Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-51086400750948705502014-11-24T16:04:00.001+00:002014-11-24T16:09:39.880+00:00Avatar in fossil form
A new pterosaur find has just been published and named Ikrandraco avatar. The creature has a long skull with teeth and a sturdy lower mandibular keel. Two specimens have been found and the paratype IVPP V.18406 is illustrated. The holotype IVPP V.18199 is a more complete specimen, but the skull preservation is overlaid by other bones.
Wang X., Rodrigues T., Jiang S., Cheng Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-4397272770740053222014-08-10T14:27:00.000+01:002014-08-10T14:50:06.063+01:00Wow!A recent paper published this year has revealed a wealth of pterosaur information from one find. A bad weather event about 120 million years ago preserved the remains of 40 pterosaurs of a single colony along with 5 eggs.
Found at a site in the Turpan-Hami Basin near the Tian Shan Mountains in Xinjiang, China, this skull is a complete one of an assumed female specimen of Hamipterus Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-22313379383701618232014-06-11T08:54:00.004+01:002014-06-11T08:54:56.416+01:00Changes to the blogGoogle - who host blogger - are making changes to their services. Access to Google services is now going to be through @gmail accounts. There has been no notification to weblog administrators about the change, but I have taken the precaution of assigning a Google Mail administrator for this blog to ensure that it will function when the changes are applied on ;
16th June 2014
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611957366052160839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-23681961390725764352014-05-01T20:53:00.003+01:002014-05-02T10:15:46.921+01:00The Rotunda
Scarborough Museum Services have been restructured over the past decade. The geology collections are now housed in the Rotunda Museum at the end of Valley Road.
Amongst the collections are two bones collected from the Taynton Limestone. This one is catalogued SCARB-2000-1883 and carries a label 26G and another old hand written label "Bone of A Pterosaur". This Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-49973555394222931172014-03-15T09:16:00.001+00:002014-03-15T09:17:20.940+00:00The power of X-raysIt is often the case that fossil specimens are preserved within a matrix of rock where some parts lay over other parts. In the case shown below, the skull of this pterosaur is laying across the wing bones. Without some form of scan, the skull would have to be removed to see the bones below.
An X-ray of the fossil matrix can, in many cases, reveal the bones that are concealed below the skull. Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-29985681804522065512013-12-18T13:53:00.002+00:002013-12-18T13:53:47.941+00:00Pterodactyl Bookmark
This little offering came from Webberleys bookshop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It is by Cool Creations Ltd, Rudgate Business Park, Tockwith, York, YO26 7RD. Most good bookshops should have one.
Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-72888463418336496292013-10-21T15:07:00.000+01:002013-10-21T15:07:02.165+01:00Thoughts on a head crest
The skull of Tapejara wellnhoferi has bony extensions to the upper and lower mandible and a long spinous bone extending back over the top of the skull. There is no evidence of soft tissue crests in this species, but since the other tapejarids; Tupandactylus navigens and Tupandactylus imperator have soft tissue crests it is probable that T. wellnhoferi also had a soft tissue Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-87859443745227954062013-10-11T14:30:00.002+01:002013-10-11T14:31:29.647+01:00Royal Mail Dinosaur Stamps
The Royal Mail have issued their dinosaur stamps. Fist day covers were only available at Post Offices on 10 Oct 2013, but the stamp sets are still available where stocks last.
The art work on these stamps is by John Sibbick. His work is found in many pterosaur publications. Text on the cover card is by Angela Milner from the NHM London. There are two Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-70666160080550434922013-09-17T13:26:00.000+01:002013-09-17T13:26:47.626+01:00Pterosaur toy
This 8cm high orange wind up hopping dinosaur toy is distributed by H. Grossman, the Scottish Dinosaur Toy company. You wind it up and it hops for a good few seconds. No pterosaur enthusiast worth their salt should be without one. It has kept our cats amused for seconds.
http://www.theworks.co.uk/Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-8665431025426381702013-06-07T09:17:00.000+01:002013-06-07T09:17:14.841+01:00Can You Help
Isidro Martínez has just sent me a photograph of a pterosaur skull in the Museum Mensch und Natur in Münich, Germany. It displays a very good crest and the teeth are preserved mainly in situ.
The fossil is new to me and I would like to know more about it. The museum display has no label or information and I have been unable to contact the staff directly. Can any one help with Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-45568196724989796622013-05-12T15:29:00.001+01:002013-05-13T12:46:39.206+01:00Axial SkeletonRecently, I have been asked to identify a number of pterosaur vertebrae. Most of them were of small theropod dinosaur cervicals from the Kem-Kem formation in Morocco. Pterosaur vertebrae in isolation requires a skilled eye to identify them, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at the axial skeleton of Pteranodon as the vertebrae are quite well documented. I am going to Pterosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0