Moganopterus
Art: Joschua Knüppe
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Moganopterus
/mog-an-OP-ter-us/
Filter-feeding pterosaurs don't get bigger than Moganopterus, or even skinnier. It is one of the slimmest pterosaurs around, with a long neck and a spry physique. This animal used its bristly teeth to sift plankton from cool lakes and rivers.
Pterosaur data
Mesozoic era · 252–66 Ma
Wingspan
About this pterosaur
One of the larger pterosaurs from China’s Yixian Formation, this ctenochasmatid had the largest skull of any toothed pterosaur, up to 95 centimeters long. It was a sift-feeder just like its earlier relatives, with thin comb-like teeth.
It had about sixty-two teeth in its long jaws, far fewer than other members of its family.
All that is known from this genus is its skull, and a few neck vertebrae. The jaws of the animal have been compared to the mythical swords Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, and this is where the name comes from. The only member of the genus is Moganopterus zhuiana, described and named by Lu and coworkers in 2012.
On the whole the animal was estimated to have a wingspan slightly under 5 meters across but was once estimated to be much larger. In any case it is still a pterosaur of considerable size.
From the largest cervical vertebra, we know that it was a very thin and lanky animal and that it had a lengthy neck.
Across the network
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