Dragons of the Air: An Account of Extinct Flying ReptilesSeeley, H. G. (Harry Govier)
Science
Dragons of the Air: An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles
Seeley, H. G. (Harry Govier)
Pterosauria
The type of the genus Pterodactylus is the form originally described by
Cuvier as_ Pterodactylus longirostris_ (p. 28). It is also known as _P.
antiquus_, that name having been given by a German naturalist after
Cuvier had invented the genus, and before he had named the species.
There are some remarkable features in which Cuvier's animal is distinct
from others which have been referred to the same genus. Thus the head is
4-1/2 inches long, while the entire length of the backbone to the
extremity of the tail is only 6-1/2 inches, and one vertebra in the neck
is at least as long as six in the back, so that the animal has the
greater part of its length in the head and neck, although the neck
includes so few vertebræ. Nearly all the teeth--which are few in number,
short and broad, not exceeding a dozen in either jaw--are limited to the
front part of the beak, and do not extend anywhere near the nasal
vacuity. This is not the case with all.
In the species named _P. Kochi_, which I have regarded as the type of a
distinct genus, there are large teeth in the front of the jaw
corresponding to those of Pterodactylus, and behind these a smaller
series of teeth extending back under the nostril, which approaches close
to the orbit of the eye, without any indication of a separate antorbital
vacuity. On those characters the genus Diopecephalus was defined. It is
closely allied to Pterodactylus; both agree in having the ilium
prolonged forward more than twice as far as it is carried backward, the
anterior process covering about half a dozen vertebræ, as in
_Pterodactylus longirostris_. A great many different types have been
referred to _Pterodactylus Kochi_, and it is probable that they may
eventually be distinguished from each other. The species in which the
upper borders of the orbits approximate could be separated from those in
which the frontal interspace is wider.
[Illustration: FIG. 60. CYCNORHAMPHUS SUEVICUS FROM THE SOLENHOFEN
SLATE SHOWING THE SCATTERED POSITION OF THE BONES
_Original in the Museum at Tübingen_]
[Illustration: FIG. 61. CYCNORHAMPHUS SUEVICUS
RESTORATION SHOWING THE FORM OF THE BODY AND THE WING MEMBRANES]
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