Reconstructed skeleton of Thalassodromeus

Thalassodromeus was a pterosaur (a flying reptile) that lived in what is now northeastern Brazil about 100 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. The original skull was discovered in 1983 in the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin. This genus had one of the largest known skulls among pterosaurs, around 1.42 metres (4 ft 8 in) long, with one of the largest cranial crests of any vertebrate in proportion to its skull. Running from the tip of the upper jaw to beyond the occiput at the back of the skull, the lightly built crest may have been used for thermoregulation or in display behaviour. The crest may not have fully developed until after sexual maturity. Though only the skull is known, the animal is estimated to have had a wingspan of 4.2 to 4.5 m (14 to 15 ft). The jaws were toothless, with sharp upper and lower edges and strong musculature. Thalassodromeus may have been able to kill and eat prey on the ground. (Full article...)