balaenognathus maeuseri

The posterior convexity is one fourth shorter than the anterior one and strongly curves dorsolaterally to form a hook-like process with a deep dorsal concavity that merges with the posterior margin of the bone. 2015). The posterior margin includes an angle of about 80 with the dorsomedial margin. The length of the shaft is five times its maximum width. The dorsal margin includes an angle of about 80 with the posterior one. The long jaw is curved upwards like an avocet and at the end it flares out like a spoonbill. This strange species of pterodactyl It is unusual, especially for a particular characteristic. Only the distal roller joint of the left wing-finger metacarpal and the articular area of a WP, including the three free digits of the left wing-finger, are missing. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7375. Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox, Phys.org 2003 - 2023 powered by Science X Network. The water flow then passed through the rostral spatula, which converges to form a funnel towards the narrowest part of the rostrum immediately posterior to the spatulate region. 6). 1A), which dips towards the southeast, forming the base of the WattendorfBasin (Fig. The specimen is currently on display in the Bamberg Natural History Museum in Germany. The mandible is articulated with the hyoids contacting its posteroventral end and with its left mandibular ramus lying adjacent to the left wing-finger metacarpal (Figs. The newfound animal was named Balaenognathus maeuseri the genus name is a nod to the living genus Balaenoptera, which contains filter-feeding baleen whales such as blue whales ( B. musculus ),. 2017. Digit III. 2012. The metatarsals of the left pes overly each other obscuring most osteological features. Digit III. A detailed description of the preparation is given in Vlkl-Costantini and Vlkl (2013). 2019). Distal to the neck, the humeral shaft is straight with a slightly concave posterior margin. The morphology and taxonomy of the pterosaur Cycnorhamphus. A blunt ridge marks the anterior margin of the proximal articulation. This manuscript was greatly improved by our two referees, Chris Bennett, Hays (KS,) and Jordan Bestwick, Birmingham (UK), both of whom made some excellent suggestions that have added significantly to the paper. The distal ends of metatarsals I to IV terminate in a straight line. The spoonbilled pterosaur's filter-feeding skills have also been compared to whales' feeding habits. The only part of the parietal that appears to be preserved is the concave orbital margin (Fig. Humphries, S., R.H.C. When discovered, the specimen consisted of a slab broken into 17 pieces (Figs. Because the pterosaur specimen P2011-633 was discovered ex situ, its original finding horizon was determined on lithological criteria, which fortunately are highly distinctive and restricted to a very narrow part of the stratigraphic sequence exposed in the Wattendorf quarry. [1] Discovery and naming 2013. The fully articulated specimen displays a unique dentition that suggests this flying reptile fed like a modern-day flamingo, sieving water through its jaws to trap small invertebrates as it . Then, the anterior margin becomes straight and terminates at the anterior edge of the scapulocoracoidal facet. The distal joint is half as wide as the proximal one. The latter includes rhynchocephalians, ichthyopterygians, sauropterygians, crocodylomorphs and theropod dinosaurs, as well as pterosaurs (Arratia et al. The function of the cranial crest and jaw of a unique pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. On the right wing, all bones are articulated with each other, but the articulations between WP I through IV show ahyperextension of about 100each (Figs. For water intake at least the anterior third of the rostrum must have been submerged (Fig. The articular head is saddle-shaped with a deep intercondylar sulcus, which is partly filled by matrix. This could either be accomplished on the wing (skimming) or while wading (Fig. The remaining fragments result from compaction of the interorbital septum. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. Did pterosaurs feed by skimming? 6) is exposed in lateral aspect and has slightly rotated about its centre in a way that the anterior process has disarticulated from the premaxilla at an angle of about 5. The newly discovered species, named Balaenognathus maeuseri had over 400 small, hooked teeth in its mouth, similar to the prongs of a fine comb. The minimum diameter of the shaft is in the middle of the shaft, where it is about two thirds of the diameter at the proximal articulation. Both tibiae are seen in lateral view (Figs. Pterosaur bones had to be light to allow them to fly, which meant they seldom fossilized well; in most cases, we have scrappy fractions of an animal. The flying reptile belongs to Ctenochasmatidae, a family of pterosaurs known from the limestone in Bavaria, Germany. Stay up to date on the latest science news by signing up for our Essentials newsletter. [1], The Balaenognathus holotype specimen, NKMB P2011-633, was discovered in sediments of the Torleite Formation, dated to the upper KimmeridgianTithonian ages of the late Jurassic period, near Wattendorf, Bavaria, in southern Germany. Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung fr Palontologie und Historische Geologie 27: 175186. Loch Ness Monster: If Its Real, Could It Be Giant European Eel? However, because of the impossibility of a full jaw occlusion in Balaenognathus, the water would have been expelled during jaw adduction. Its corpus bears a shallow pleurocoel and a low rectangular neural spine reaching less than one fifth of the height of the corpus. Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material. In order to preserve his memory, we named the pterosaur in his honor, Martill said. +ul. The discovery was made accidentally while scientists were excavating a large block of limestone containing crocodile bones. The proximal articulation of the basal wing-finger phalanx is the trochlea of which only the sub-circular dorsal margin is exposed. Note: The preserved ungual phalanges are of approximately the same size and have half the length of penultimate phalanx of digit I. The limestones form part of the extensive microbial sponge reef biofacies with intercalated plattenkalks that can be traced from Nusplingen in the southwest to Wattendorf in the northeast (Fig. The history of Late Jurassic pterosaurs housed in Hungarian collections and the revision of the holotype of Pterodactylus micronyx Meyer 1856 (a Pester Exemplar). Bennett, S.C. 2013b. The tibial head is three times as wide as the narrowest part of the shaft, a constriction proximally adjacent to the distal joint. The cranial margin of sacral 1 is sinusoidal with a shallow convexity in its basal third and a convexity, which is twice as deep in the anterolateral half, while the middle third is concave. Relatively flexible tooth crowns would help ensure interlocking rows of teeth. The fibula lies in anatomical position. Paleontologists have identified a new species of long-legged, filter-feeding pterodactyloid pterosaur from the well-preserved specimen found in a quarry in Germany. The right tarsus is preserved in dorsolateral the left one in lateral view (Figs. The jaws of this pterosaur are really long and lined with small fine, hooked teeth, with tiny spaces between them like a nit comb. 2, 3 and 4, the caudal skeleton, sacral region and thorax lie in a nearly straight line and are exposed in dorsal aspect, with some distortion that emphasises the right side of the skeleton. In its northwestern area, the quarry exposes massively bedded Dolomite of the Torleite Formation (Niebuhr and Prner 2014; Fig. Likely, the bone forms a low vertical suture with the premaxilla at the base of the rostral spatula. While the rest of us are pondering whether the flying reptile would have been a threat were we suddenly transported back to the late Jurassic, paleontologists are more focused on how well-preserved the discovery is. Professor David Martill, lead author of the research, from the University of Portsmouth's School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, said, "The nearly complete skeleton was found in a very finely layered limestone that preserves fossils beautifully. Martill believes the Balaenognathus fed on small shrimp in shallow wetlands and the hooks were used to hold the crustaceans in the mouth prior to swallowing. It is twice as long as it is wide. Both fibulae are exposed from their right sides (Figs. Caudal series. The proximal and distal syncarpals are preserved in articulation in the left wing only and are seen in dorsal view (Figs. However, he clarified that the Pterodaustro had stubby teeth in its upper jaw and even longer teeth in its lower jaw, suggesting that this new specimen is very different from other ctenochasmatids. 1A) and make up the Swabian and Franconian Jura of the Central European carbonate platform (Barthel et al. 2, 3, 4, 5) is virtually complete and in a high degree of articulation, but most of the bones are crushed flat and have failed in a brittle manner, although some elements exhibit plastic deformation (Figs. Image credit: Martill et al., doi: 10.1007/s12542-022-00644-4. 1998. The difference in tooth count is due to the posteriorly shorter tooth row in the mandible. This suggests that the antorbital and postorbital processes of the jugal define an angle of~120. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 16). This is also unlikely, as the neck is too short to effectively push water up the mouth. 1970. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 217: 105137. 2008. Passive suspension feeding could have been an option, despite this feeding method is mostly know from extant invertebrates (e.g., cnidarians, some gastropods (Viviparus), some annelids, crinoids, decapod crustaceans, insect larvae (e.g., simuliids). Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. The following description is based on both humeri and only refers to the ventral face. Mandible. Chinsamy, A., L. Codornui, and L. Chiappe. Die laminierten Plattenkalke von Wattendorf in Oberfranken. The diameter of the distal articular head is a little smaller than that of the proximal one. 2, 3, 5). The specific name, "maeuseri", honours coauthor Matthias Muser, who died before the paper's publication. The effective angle between the intake part of the rostrum and the filter part would have been about 30 (Fig. The retroarticular process is one third lower. Pterosaur phylogeny and comments on the evolutionary history of the group. 6). Here, the internal surface of the spatula was sufficiently large to produce reasonable suction. All others are seen from ventrally. Water could then be forced out through the interlocking teeth on both sides, allowing the food to be filtered out. Solnhofen: a study in Mesozoic palaeontology. Preliminary results of a phylogenetic analysis of the Pterosauria (Diapsida: Archosauria). Bestwick, J., D.M. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050204. The rounded posterior fourth of the left ischium is seen medially. 2017. Thats not true for the creature that has been named Balaenognathus maeuseri in a new paper, where it has been identified as a member of the Ctenochasmatidae pterosaurs. Neues Jahrbuch Fr Geologie Und Palontologie, Abhandlungen 245: 117125. A new ctenochasmatid (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the late Jurassic of Uruguay. 2018. The genus contains a single species, B. maeuseri, known from a nearly-complete, articulated skeleton. 1995. The transverse processes of presacral 4 are inclined anteriorly at an angle of about 95 against the long axis of the corpus (Figs. On the left side, nine ribs are visible, but they have collapsed over each other. Consequently, most bones are fractured, sometimes intensely, and are largely two-dimensional, or almost so. Largest Jurassic pterosaur on record unearthed in Scotland, Giant 'dragon of death' with 30-foot wingspan unearthed in Argentina, Corgi-size pterosaurs walked in the rain 145 million years ago. The only difference is that flamingos use small, bristly hairs called lamellae to filter their food instead of hooked teeth. +carp. I would like to subscribe to Science X Newsletter. Surangular. A portion of the distal extremity of the left metacarpal IV and part of the left anterior ilium process are known to be missing. The process is long, rectangular in outline and measures one tenth of the mandibular length. The anterior and posterior margins run parallel to each other. Researchers believe that the animal likely dabbled as it waded through shallow lagoons, sucking in tiny water shrimps and copepods and then filtering them out through its teeth just like ducks and flamingos. The lowest part of the mandible lies immediately posterior to the rostral spatula being half the height of the highest extension of the mandible. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1135. From its posterior terminus the process bulges a little and then curves anteriorly to merge with the shaft. Nasal. The bones of Balaenognathus maeuseri found in the slab of limestone. There are several bone fragments inside the orbit, five of which are platy and arranged in an arch, likely representing the posteroventral part of the sclerotic ring (Fig. Last month, a new species with 400 teeth, the. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. The bones present are listed in Table 1. In other species, the lower jaw normally houses slightly longer teeth, he noted. 1995. We know of no pterosaur in which the pteroids are absent. technology (Tech Xplore) and medical research (Medical Xpress), Flexible tooth crowns would be an advantage to secure a dense interlock of the opposing tooth rows. Maisey. Seven fragments are preserved with certainty. Femur longer than humerus (ratio humerus/femur=0.79; Table 1, Figs. Both epicondyles are evenly rounded. nov. (Reptilia: Pterosauria) from Western Liaoning Province, China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16: 432444. Pes as an entity. The angle between the posterior margin and the posterior proximal facet is about 95. 12). Year-classes of pterosaurs from the Solnhofen Limeston of Germany: Taxonomic and sytematic implications. "The jaws of this pterosaur are really long and lined with small, fine, hooked teeth, with tiny spaces between them like a nit comb," study lead author David Martill, a paleobiologist at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., said in a statement. In dorsal aspect, the proximal articular face of the second phalanx is concave in the middle two thirds and is as wide as the distal articular hear of the basal phalanx. The bone is slightly sigmoidal with the distal third curving posteriorly. The tail is bent at its base to the left at about 10 but is otherwise straight despite the caudal vertebral column being broken between caudal vertebrae four and five. In one taxon, Pterodaustro Bonaparte, 1970 the teeth in the upper jaw are small and somewhat globular, but the teeth of the dentary are among the longest in terms of aspect ratio (l/d) of any tetrapod, and indeed, the most numerous of any tetrapod fossil or extant (Chiappe and Chinsamy 1996). 4). Discovery of a new pterosaur in western Liaoning, China. We particularly thank our highly skilled preparators Pino Vlkl-Costantini and Paul Vlkl, Dollnstein, who did an extraordinary job in the preparation of this difficult specimen. From the cranial anatomy and its dentition, both passive suspension feeding (Figs. The anterodorsally pointing glenoidal tuberosity has one third the width of the entire joint and barely protrudes beyond the proximal articular face of the ulna. The dorsolateral face of the parietal is impacted, and its orbital rim is slightly abraded such that the precise outline of the bone cannot be reconstructed. Some other missing elements (e.g., the pteroids) may be concealed under larger bones. The fibular head is triangular in lateral view with a neck that measures about one eighth of the bone. Correspondence to Phys.org is a part of Science X network. Balaenognathus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaurs from the Late Jurassic Torleite Formation of Bavaria, Germany. The cranial articulation is twice the size of the caudal one and is semicircular in outline with its rounded anterior margin confluent with the shaft and level with the posterior articular process. Nature Ecology and Evolution. Biological Sciences 276: 38193828. Examples of the ammonite Aulacostephanus eudoxus from the same horizon as the pterosaur demonstrate its early late Kimmeridgian age (Schweigert 2007), making the Wattendorf plattenkalk the oldest of the Jurassic plattenkalks of the Central European carbonate platform. The left prepubis is hidden beneath the sacrum. Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Klasse der Kniglich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 141: 1133. The medial fourth of the ala is overlain by the right femoral neck, a small part of in the lateral third of the anterior margin by vertebral rib 10. Towards thedistalend, the second phalanx of digit III converges symmetrically. B Outcrop of Upper Jurassic strata in southern Germany. Flying dinosaur with a whale teeth is this a joke it sound like mesoeucrocodylia stomatosuchus they said it eat krill like whales another link with tetanuran dinosaur for pterosaur ? 2009). The bone is narrowest at the mid-shaft circumference and towards the proximal and distal articular head expands by one third, whereby the distal articular face is a little smaller than the proximal one. The right margin is straight and devoid of any articulation facets with the sternocostal segments of the cranial three thoracic ribs. If this is how Balaenognathus fed, the most effective angle for the head would be slightly submerged at around 30 to the water's surface. It likely allowed water to enter through the toothless front of the jaws, after which the water flow was split by a keel on the midline of the palate. The posterior articular face is shallowly concave and accommodates the distal apex of the distal ulnar articulation. 1834. Editors However, the sternal plate has a rounded pentagonal . Prof Martill said: "Matthias was a friendly and warm-hearted colleague of a kind that can be scarcely found. Qvarnstrm, M., E. Elgh, K. Owocki, P.E. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Its neck is crossed over by WP I, and its distal terminus is crushed. Therefore, the lumbar region is formed by three vertebrae (Fig. The teeth are limited to the sides of the jaw, while the front remains clear. [1], Martill et al. The alternate form of ram feeding would be to wade, pushing the head through the water. That of digit II includes an angle of about 65 with the long axis of the shafts and runs in posteropalmar direction. When the mouth closed, food could be obtained. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The skull settled on top of the right wing followed by the trunk, which rolled on its left side guided by the neck that curled. The distal terminus of the penultimate phalanx of digit II is damaged, and most of the proximal articulation is hidden below the proximal phalanx of digit II and the terminal wing-finger phalanx. The posterior margin of the posterior distal carpal is sinusoid and about half as long as the proximal margin. Here, the teeth are longest and thus still interdigitating despite the jaw divergence. 17D). Additionally, the edentulous straight anterior margin of the rostral spatula leaves an opening between the elongated nearly vertical front teeth for the intake of nutrient-rich water. When not at work he can be found watching sci-fi films, playing old Pokemon games or running (probably slower than he'd like). Alternatively, filtration can be achieved by actively funneling water into the filter during forwards movement, so-called ram filtration (Simon et al. The trochlea is about half the size of the capitulum and partially covered by the left ulna. Nasoantorbital fenestra. 14). 2, 3, 5, 9). In order to preserve his memory, we named the pterosaur in his honour.. Milner. The proximal joint of the basal phalanx of digit I has two third the width of the distal metacarpal condyle and is convex. There is one other pterosaur with more teeth Pterodaustro from Argentina". Much of the shoulder girdle and sternum is concealed by bones of the wings and the cervical vertebrae, the latter describing an arc of 180 degrees such that the skull is intimately associated with elements of both wings. 1978. The phalanges of the three small digits are slightly compacted, especially at their articular heads. Both ulnae are preserved in articulation with humerus, carpus and radius of either wing (Figs. With finer filters, some pterosaur species began to exploit nutrient-rich plankton as food source, with the minimum size of the food particles mirrored by the distance of the teeth. The quadrate contacts the second cervical vertebra. The unguals of digits II and III are as long as the respective penultimate phalanges. Beitrge Zur Kenntnis Der Flugsaurier. Balaenognathus maeuseri, while a newly discovered species, belongs to the same family of flying reptiles. Laterally adjacent lies distal tarsal 2, which is one third smaller than distal tarsal 1 but of the same shape. The hooked shape of the teeth was something "we've never seen before in a pterosaur," Martill said. 12). Fig 2 and 3 show the bones of Balaenognathus maeuseri found in the slab of limestone. The base of the ischium is about one third narrower than the maximum extent of the ala. Munich: Friedrich Pfeil. 13) Balaenognathus is unique in the ratio between the length of humerus+radius/ulna+metacarpal IV and the length of the wing-finger. Later the femur collapsed across WP II. The generic name roughly translated means whale mouth because of its filtering feeding style. A small aperture of the rostral spatula could have prevented the intake of too large food items. The teeth of the new pterosaur suggest an extraordinary feeding mechanism while it waded through water. The right radius is mostly obscured by the right ulna with only its anterior margin visible and revealing nothing noteworthy. The plantar margin of the tubercle is slightly convex curving dorsally into the ungual sole, which is straight or shallowly convex. Unique to Balaenognathus is the permanent gape of the anterior third of the rostrum because of the upper jaw being more strongly curved than the lower jaw (Fig. The proximal half is overlain by WP I and the occipital area of the skull. Frey, E., M.-C. Buchy, and D.M. The specimen must have been buried in the sediment soon after death, because all the joints, along with the ligaments are clearly visible. Metatarsal I is the longest of the series measuring one third of the tibia length. Image credit: Megan Jacobs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15) is complete and exposed in right lateral aspect. This pterosaur had teeth in the upper and lower jaw, which are a mirror image of each other. Heaney, Balete, Rickart, Veluz & Jansa, 2009. DON'T MISS:Doomsday Clock to be moved in hours as humanity's fate laid bare[INSIGHT]Inside the UK's largest university museum after 15m transformation[SPOTLIGHT]Labour warned windfall tax hike could spark energy disaster[REVEAL], Professor Martill said: Matthias was a friendly and warm-hearted colleague of a kind that can be scarcely found. In Sixth symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota, Short Papers, 1995, ed. The second vertebra exposes its left face. Despite this overlap, much of the skull is visible and seen in right lateral aspect (Fig. Cristospine less than 1/5 the length of the sternal plate (not visible on the new specimen). The distoventral styloid process is low and blunt and overlaps the cranial corner of the radius. The function of the hooked tooth crowns remains an enigma, but they appear to have limited the gape of the jaws. A ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Stonesfield Slate (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire, England. The contralateral pleurocoels form a ventral keel that diverges towards the intervertebral articulations. This community is for their avid and casual fans. There are no teeth at the end of its mouth, but there are teeth all the way along both jaws right to the back of its smile., The preservation means we can see the diversity in the shape of the teeth, and Martill continued; Whats even more remarkable is some of the teeth have a hook on the end, which weve never seen before in a pterosaur ever.. The anterior margin of the nasoantorbital fenestra consists of a thin lamina extending from the sharply curved posterior margin of the base of the frontal process of the maxilla. The right nasal (Fig. In both wings, the flight finger has rotated tightly on the fourth metacarpal roller joint (LW~25, RW~57) as though the wingfingers were folded over the body. Phalanges of digits IIII. Cervical series. Cretaceous Research 27: 603610. .mw-parser-output table.clade{border-spacing:0;margin:0;font-size:100%;line-height:100%;border-collapse:separate;width:auto}.mw-parser-output table.clade table.clade{width:100%;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label{min-width:0.2em;width:0.1em;padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:bottom;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;border-bottom:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label::before,.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel::before{content:"\2060 "}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width{overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.first{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel{padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:top;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.last{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar{vertical-align:middle;text-align:left;padding:0 0.5em;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar.reverse{text-align:right;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf{border:0;padding:0;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leafR{border:0;padding:0;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf.reverse{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkA{background-color:yellow}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkB{background-color:green}, Balaenognathus was discovered in layers of the Torleite Formation, which dates to the upper Kimmeridgian, between 152.10.9 and 157.31.0 million years ago.