tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23359455857088451002011-12-22T00:05:01.733ZThis 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.Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-14998017254465286822011-08-29T11:57:00.002+01:002011-08-29T13:30:50.392+01:00

There are lots of pterosaur toys on the market.  Many of them are quite good, but there are a vast number of toys that are badly designed with respect to accuracy. This model, from China, is of a mythical bat winged pterosaur with a strange head.  As a toy it works well and it is fun to slot the bits together to assemble the final model. A much more realistic model comes from Germany.  Here a

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-42895883823279089752011-07-08T13:57:00.003+01:002011-07-08T14:02:19.175+01:00

There have been many discussions and proposals about the function of the pterosaur head crest.  They have ranged from display and sexual dimorphism to stability when dipping to feed in water and so on...  Brian Roberts and Rick Lind of the University of Florida and Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University have recently published work that suggests another option for the crest. They have

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-67844028299293057672011-06-15T07:55:00.002+01:002011-06-15T08:00:25.819+01:00

Were pterosaurs in decline before the Extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Era? The answer to this question depends upon what is meant by decline.  At the end of the Cretaceous there were a few species of large pterosaurs and no apparent small pterosaurs.  Birds were more numerous and it is likely that small pterosaurs could not compete with the birds.  The large pterosaurs seem to be

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-82950021404234540942011-05-31T17:10:00.000+01:002011-05-31T17:10:19.220+01:00

Today I chanced upon a young man and his mother.  The lad was sporting a rather fine Tee Shirt with a pterosaur design.  This immediately raised my awareness of the option to look at which pterosaur Tee shirts are available. This particular example was produced by Mini Boden and after some investigation, it was found to be a limited production which is no longer available. There are lots of

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-808334222401793692011-05-23T14:56:00.000+01:002011-05-23T14:56:53.989+01:00

These photographs were taken by Brian Wickins who was part of the original team working on the George Whitfield Pteranodon flying model.  The digital images were created from the original stills in 2006 and the copyright is from that time.  My images here are copied in 2011 with permission. The first photograph shows the Pteranodon model on a rig as a Concorde takes off.  The aircraft in this

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-36232650682389709292011-05-17T14:59:00.001+01:002011-08-18T19:18:57.116+01:00

As a rule, the pterosaur database is updated on a monthly basis.  It has been quite some time since an update has been made as I have been involved in the UK National Census and have had little time to think about pterosaurs in the last 14 weeks. A few new and varied pterosaur pages have been added or updated on the site.  Over the past 3 years a vast amount of pterosaur information and new

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-44829422385483495362011-03-30T16:15:00.003+01:002011-05-24T08:41:39.005+01:00

On the 13th March this year I was contacted by Roger Bentley of the University of Reading who was involved in closing down an engineering company.  He had in his possession the original flying pteranodon model used by George Whitfield to evaluate the findings of the Bramwell and Whitfield paper on the Biomechanics of Pteranodon. The glider was designed to be an accurate representation of the

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-88149653248564018312011-01-28T15:54:00.002Z2011-01-28T15:56:37.618Z

A pterosaur find in 2009, from the Cretaceous deposits of Liouning Province in North Eastern China, has allowed sex determination in the pterosaur Darwinopterus.  A number of specimens of this pterosaur are known and this recent find has revealed an uncrested individual with a ready to lay egg. This pterosaur was fossilized after falling into the sea with a wing injury.  The egg clearly makes

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-32752313734470395682011-01-16T10:17:00.003Z2011-01-16T10:23:07.478Z

 Pterosaur eggs are in the news again.  A specimen egg in the collection of a texas enthusiast, Dr Neal Naranjo, has been scanned to reveal a pterosaur embryo inside.  The egg is destined to be included in the collections of a new museum at Lufkin, Texas. archaeology news network blogspot ktre.com This is an unusual find and it will complement the previous finds from China and Argentina

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-74428812730612322192010-10-02T16:33:00.004+01:002010-10-03T20:51:29.381+01:00

I recently received an E-mail from Grant McKee regarding this interesting specimen, but was unable to reply since his Mail Server at btinternet.com was not accepting unauthorised mail (550 must be authenticated). Parapsicephalus purdoni cast in the Natural History Museum, London, photographed in 1984. The original specimen was found in the Alum Shales at Lofthouse near Whitby in about1881 by the

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-268812915691092382010-09-19T09:52:00.000+01:002010-09-19T09:52:47.638+01:00

A recent trip to Lyme Regis allowed me to see the improvements to the Philpot Museum, now the Lyme Regis Museum.  For some time now the museum has had a Curator, which has been a distinct advantage.  The arches have been incorporated into the museum building and the displays have been updated and improved to fit in with the heritage status of the Jurassic Coast. The Jurassic fossils are displayed

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-15648977777336917722010-08-17T14:02:00.001+01:002010-08-17T14:04:52.342+01:00

Ornithocheirus is well documented in the UK collections, but many of the remains are fragmentary, consisting of partial bones and joint associations. I thought it would be interesting to use some of the specimens to compile a model of a whole wing.  All of the bone ends are preserved and in some cases the lengths of the bones are clear, other bone lengths can be extrapolated. The main stumbling

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-91059855068002204232010-07-01T09:02:00.002+01:002010-07-01T09:09:45.287+01:00

For a century, almost as long as pterosaurs have been in the popular domain, people have occasionally reported sightings of live animals.  They are usually reported by word of mouth and there seems to be little, if any, supporting evidence.  I am a doubter myself, as I see two trends at work here.  Firstly, the reports of sightings have been coloured with the changes in scientific thinking about

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-43807863822760824942010-06-19T09:21:00.000+01:002010-07-01T09:04:31.994+01:00

Australia is a vast continent with a relatively small population.  It was in 1980 that the first pterosaur remains were recorded and published in Nature.  They included a scapulo-coracoid of an unusual type that had a strut at the back of the articular joint.  There are some similarities with pteranodontid specimens, but essentially it is an unknown species that has not been seen anywhere else. 

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-88634828900866756292010-04-30T13:37:00.013+01:002010-05-07T10:12:45.376+01:00

Friday 25 June 2010, 10:00am - Sunday 4 July 2010, 20:30pmThe Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London is just a short walk from Covent Garden or Westminster and it is within easy access of Waterloo, Charring Cross and Embankment Stations. In late June it is to become home to some of the largest pterosaurs in the UK.The University of Portsmouth, supported by the Royal Society are participating in

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-32988677265289119142010-04-20T15:09:00.005+01:002010-06-29T09:31:25.423+01:00

Bruce Mohn is a palaeo-artist who has produces fine models of dinosaurs and other prehistoric species, including Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus. Many of his works are in museums and I admire his skill and accuracy in portraying these subjects. Above is one of his pictures showing some of the bones of his Rhamphorhynchus model during development. I thought it would be a good idea to have a go

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-38964087162956751742010-04-11T09:35:00.008+01:002010-04-11T10:16:25.187+01:00

Dave Martill, David Unwin and Robert Loveridge are working on a definitive publication on the order Pterosauria. The text has a significant number of contributions from the leading workers in the field and has a forward by Peter Wellnhofer. It is planned for publication by Cambridge University Press in December 2010 and this looks like a significant "must have" for anyone who is serious about

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-74421530918672541712010-03-31T15:06:00.003+01:002010-03-31T15:23:54.778+01:00

Having been dissatisfied with the way The Pterosaur Database represented the families and species of pterosaurs, I have just completed a re-structuring of the web pages. This is a job in progress, but it should be a little easier to find things. Previously, the pterosaurs were arranged and listed by geological age. This format is still available, but now they are also listed by classification

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-10923852171996565562010-03-21T14:52:00.014Z2010-03-21T15:33:08.327Z

The Stonesfield Slate is an interesting deposit which contains quite a lot of fragmentary pterosaur remains. It is one of the few Middle Jurassic deposits in the UK that has yielded pterosaur remains. The pterosaurs of the Middle Jurassic are poorly represented worldwide, so this is an important source of information on the species that were around at that time. It is clear that this age had a

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-6802954343318392782010-03-12T08:51:00.006Z2010-03-21T14:19:55.791Z

Identifying pterosaur teeth is not easy, especially from photographic evidence. The five teeth below were extracted from my own fossil collection to illustrate the difficulty in knowing that you have a pterosaur fossil tooth. They are all authenticated specimens.Resin cast of a tooth from Syroccopteryx moroccensis - pterosaurGeosaurid Crocodile tooth from the Kem-Kem formation, Morocco -

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-45558167023568428492010-03-06T18:48:00.004Z2010-03-06T18:54:51.655Z

Following on from my last post, I thought it would be interesting to give readers a chance to look at some teeth pictures. This should test even the most experienced eye as it is always difficult to examine teeth from photographs. The photo below is of some of the teeth in my own collection of fossils. Tooth 1 is 3.5 cm long for scale.Question:- which teeth are pterosaur and which teeth are

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-14701536154731874212010-02-08T13:15:00.007Z2010-02-08T13:42:25.572Z

I am frequently asked to identify pterosaur teeth. Sadly, in most cases, the teeth turn out to be non-pterosaur. Many are of fish like Enchodus sp., the sabre toothed herring. These teeth are common and can easily be passed off by dealers as pterosaur teeth to increase profit. Many dealers will also obtain pterosaur teeth from suppliers without knowing that they have been duped.This is my

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-84672317928036672942010-01-24T10:46:00.004Z2010-01-24T12:14:35.212Z

In 1882 Carl Zittel described a fossil pterosaur wing with the membrane preserved. This remarkable find was the highlight of that year and the Zittel wing became a very famous fossil. Casts were distributed to all of the main national museums and by 1883 most researchers and interested students of fossils had seen the wing.In 1880, a fine fossil of Rhamphorhynchus was found in the Solenhofen

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-26691156702027420842010-01-02T17:31:00.002Z2010-01-03T19:04:51.921Z

There have been some remarkable finds published in 2009. Something of a stepping stone in the understanding of pterosaur evolution.1. Changchengopterus pani was found in Upper Jurassic rocks in China. It is a basal, non-pterodactyloid pterosaur. Basal simply means a more primitive form of pterosaur with characteristics of much earlier species.2. Darwinopterus modularis is a Middle Jurassic

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-32192184135908985142009-12-27T09:00:00.001Z2009-12-28T09:39:19.917Z

By looking at specific features of the fossil skeletons of pterosaurs it is possible to compare them to see how closely individuals are related. The science of comparative anatomy is limited in its application, but it is a very useful tool when dealing with fossil species. For instance - does Pterodaurstro fit more closely with the Pterodactyloids of the Rhamphorhynchoids.By looking at a

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-10171815996385604042009-11-23T14:34:00.012Z2011-03-29T20:50:38.360+01:00

Speculation about how pterosaurs reproduced has been enhanced over the years by lack of evidence. Many scientists believed that pterosaurs must have laid eggs, but were they hard shelled as in birds, or leathery as in reptiles. To some, the thought of how a long bony wing would work in an egg was a problem to imagine. Bats give birth to live young without the need for eggs, so perhaps pterosaurs

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-22793640716155292262009-11-01T10:43:00.006Z2009-11-01T11:51:09.194Z

In 1888, Newton published the first account of a pterosaur brain exposed in a skull from the Lias at Whitby, North Yorkshire. The skull fossil had to be excavated to reveal the exposed brain more fully. Before the work, a number of casts of the original were made and one such cast is shown below.Perhapsicephalus purdoni, National Geographic Survey, Nottingham.The brain fossil showed the main

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-84023981982931981142009-10-14T10:24:00.005+01:002009-10-14T19:40:54.226+01:00

The concept of evolution is based on a simple idea. If an organism can survive to pass on its genes to the next generation it is said to be fit. Fit organisms will survive best and develop into dominant or abundant species.Charles Darwin was the scientist who published this idea in 1858 On the Origin of Species… He proposed that a small and useful change, developed in relation to the

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-41502266184379278652009-10-03T19:08:00.012+01:002009-10-03T20:15:58.027+01:00

The Ornithocheiridae are a group of large pterosaur fossils from the Cretaceous. They represent several distinct species and most are known only from fragmentary remains of jaws or bone joints. In many cases it is not clear which bones belong to which jaws.In the late 1800's, this group of pterosaurs was represented mainly by remains in the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge and the British Museum of

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-9830258904887495122009-09-16T15:24:00.007+01:002009-09-16T15:56:33.092+01:00

Bruce Mohn is a comparative anatomist, palaeontologist and Palaeo-Sculptor with a specialism in mesozoic vertebrates. He has recently completed skeletal models of pterodactylus and rhamphorhynchus for the Carnegie Museum and the quality of his work is outstanding.The model components are crafted from observations of fossil material and investigative techniques to give a realistic life-like shape

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-47244437529526561702009-08-24T12:25:00.008+01:002009-08-27T12:50:27.064+01:00

Recently, Dr Phil Wilby and his team were working to extract well preserved remains from a site near Christian Malford in Wiltshire for the British Geological Survey. The outcome of this extensive dig was to recover specimens of belemnite ink which has been reconstituted and used to write with.This work mirrors the work of Joseph Anning in 1828 when he drew an illustration of a fossil skull of

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-6654866307608184502009-08-15T17:24:00.013+01:002009-08-16T19:39:45.328+01:00

In 1985 the BBC broadcasted an edition of the popular series "Wildlife on One" entitled Pterodactyls Alive. The centrepiece for this program was a dynamic model of Dimorphodon macronyx, nicknamed Didi.The model was made by Arril Johnson and was commissioned by Aardman Animations in July 1984 as an animation model for the series. The model was made after consulting the leading experts of the day

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-2303662843676425492009-08-10T19:20:00.011+01:002009-08-10T20:08:32.000+01:00

In 1985, Steven Winkworth made the first large scale flying model of Pteranodon, which he flew over the Dorset Coast. The model was used in the BBC television program - Pterodactylus flies. This event was published in New Scientist and in the national newspapers of the time, but outside of the world of pterosaur enthusiasts it is not a well known event.This weekend I walked at Park Hall Country

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-87390998103347506492009-08-02T20:04:00.007+01:002009-08-02T20:42:46.454+01:00

In 1861, a new species of pterodactyl was published by Richard Owen. The specimen was the end of a snout with a couple of teeth and 5 tooth sockets. He called this specimen Pterodactylus simus. A few years later he assigned the specimen to a new genus Criorhynchus simus. Harry Govier Seeley also published the specimen as Criorhynchus simus and added other specimens of anterior jaw fragments

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-79625328357356680132009-07-26T15:00:00.007+01:002009-07-26T15:47:36.934+01:00

Whilst translating a passage from Peter Wellhofers' work on the Rhamphorhynchoidea, I came across this specimen from the collection of Karl Strobl.Specimen No. 28: Fig. 24; Plate. 8, Fig. 1-3. Wintershof. Sammlung KARL STROBL, Eichstätt.Part and counterpart of an entire skeleton with excellent preservation.The individual is seen from the side; the arms are pushed forwards, the flight fingers in

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-45728134342955610742009-07-19T15:24:00.005+01:002009-07-19T16:47:29.736+01:00

In 1975, Peter Wellnhofer wrote a classic monograph on the Rhamphorhynchoidea. This set of 3 linked works has been the baseline for the study of this group of pterosaurs since then. It is a well organised work with analysis split into skeletal morphology, systematics and Palaeoecology. The texts were originally in German and as far as I am aware, they have not been translated wholesale into

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-34956082877670615762009-07-07T20:19:00.013+01:002009-07-07T21:12:57.084+01:00

Anurognathus ammoni, a pterosaur from the upper Jurassic Solenhofen limestones of Bavaria, was first published in 1923 by Dodderlein. This was recognised as a very unusual small pterosaur, having a very broad and short jaw. Nothing had been seen like this before. The specimen was poorly preserved and the bones were somewhat disarticulated, but the animal clearly has short blunt teeth which

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-2389225842075679812009-06-30T20:02:00.010+01:002009-06-30T21:09:28.667+01:00

Pterodaustro is represented by a number of specimens from Argentina. There is a complete skeleton, a partial juvenile and an egg, just to mention a few. This unusual pterosaur is quite well represented in the fossil record, certainly enough is known to make a convincing reconstruction.Most unusually, this was a filter feeder with a fine sieve of unusually adapted teeth that would have been

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-85166058373789312522009-06-20T15:30:00.000+01:002009-06-20T15:30:03.271+01:00

On 21st May 1799, Mary Anning was born, daughter of Richard and Mary Anning of Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. During her life she collected curiosities from the beach at Lyme Regis and nearby coastal areas. She became a very proficient and knowledgeable collector of fossils and made a number of remarkable discoveries. She often referred to experts for advice and support and her main sources were

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-51740180236163070112009-06-15T11:49:00.007+01:002011-05-17T14:26:23.985+01:00

The design of Flying model pterosaurs was taken a stage further in 1957 when Erich von Holst made a flying model of Rhamphorhynchus. This model was powered by a coiled elastic band which was connected to a rocker device which flapped the wings of the model. The tail sail had to be horizontal to stabilise the model in flight. From this experiment it was clear that the Rhamphorhynchus form had

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-36226773362824559712009-06-10T09:49:00.014+01:002009-06-10T10:51:08.859+01:00

In the early days of research, Samuel Thomas von Soemmering made the first sensible reconstruction of a pterosaur skeleton in 1812. The reconstruction was missing several skeletal elements, but was a sound model based on the available evidence. He also proposed a wing membrane form which, although too generous in area was a good attempt at theoretical reconstruction.It was not until 1882 that

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-5426324363585608602009-06-02T14:12:00.008+01:002009-06-02T15:02:45.977+01:00

Where did pterosaurs come from? This has been a question that scientists have considered for a long time.It is clear from the skull of pterosaurs that they belong to a group of reptiles called the Diapsids. This just happens to be the biggest group of reptiles that there is. This group is classified on the basis of individuals having a pair of openings in the back of the skull. It can be seen

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-49988647635983702802009-05-29T19:08:00.005+01:002009-05-29T20:15:49.913+01:00

The concept of classifying pterosaurs into a family hierarchy is a complex business. The current test for species does not apply to extinct animals unless DNA comparisons can be made. This is not possible for pterosaurs.A species can be defined as occurring “when interbreeding can produce viable offspring”. To get around this problem, fossil species are arranged in Clades. These are groups of

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-80632461301961423162009-05-24T16:06:00.011+01:002009-06-04T17:30:46.746+01:00

The Handbuch der Palaohepetologie, Teil 19, Pterosauria, starts;"Der erste Pterosaurier wurde im Jahre 1784 von Cosmus Collini beschrieben und abgebildet (Abb. 1). Es handelte sich um das vollständige Skelett eines Pterodactylus aus den Solnhofener Schichten von Eichstätt und lag seinerzeit in Naturalinkabinett der kurpfälzischen Akademi zu Mannheim. Es ist der spätere Holotypus zu

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-8548027956957727972009-05-20T20:14:00.002+01:002009-05-22T20:24:07.594+01:00

Sometimes, when finding fossils in flaggy limestones, the bedding is subject to different forms of mineralization. This pterosaur fossil in the Natural History Museum, London, has a formation of black Manganese dioxide - MnO2 (Dendritic pyrolucite) forming crystal structures around the fossil bones. This is quite common in these Bavarian specimens, though they are not very frequently seen beyond

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-42902050582595456332009-05-11T07:50:00.003+01:002009-05-22T22:14:34.791+01:00

Harry Govier Seeley was assistant to the famous palaeontologist, Adam Sedgwick, at the Woodwardian Museum, Cambridge. He was a very astute palaeontologist and stratigrapher in his own right and remained in post for many years despite offers of prestigious jobs elsewhere in the academic world.Throughout his career, he was often in dispute with the considered expert on fossil life, Richard Owen.

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2335945585708845100.post-85760102404992458412009-05-01T19:36:00.002+01:002009-06-10T11:14:33.125+01:00

There are many good web logs and websites that include fossil pterosaurs, but not many blogs dedicated to them. It is for this reason that I have created this web log. As webmaster of The Pterosaur Database, I thought it was about time that there was a source of information to provide snippets and contextual notes on all sorts of aspects of fossil pterosaurs that are not necessarily covered by

Paul Pursglovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02294108295492552665noreply@blogger.com0