Rhamphorhynchus muensteri
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Rhamphorhynchus
is a well-know pterosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period about
150 million years ago, with many fossils from sites such as the Oxford
are of England, the Solnhofen region of Germany, and also Tanzania in
Africa. Its name means "beak snout". And indeed it had a long,
narrow, pointed beak with sharp teeth sticking out at angles from the
sides - ideal for spearing and trapping fish. Its head was about 8 inches
(20 cm) in length, and its tail added another 3 feet (1meter). Rhamphorhynchus
possessed a wing span of up to 6 feet (2 meters) in length. Rhamphorhynchus
probably caught fish by skimming its beak throug the surface of the water.
Rhamphorhynchus' wings might look weak like, thin flaps of skin. But they had close speaced fibers, actinofirillae, which are beautifully preserved in some fossils of Rhamphorhynchus. These fibers strenghened the wings and stopped tears from spreading.
Synonyms of Rhamphorhynchus
•Ornithocephalus muensteri Goldfuss, 1831 emend. Lydekker, 1888
•Pterodactylus muensteri Goldfuss, 1831 emend. Lydekker, 1888
•Pterodactylus (Rhamphorhynchus) muensteri (Goldfuss, 1831)
•Rhamphorhynchus longicaudus (Münster, 1839) von Meyer, 1846
◦Pterodactylus longicaudus Münster, 1839
◦Odontorhynchus longicaudus (Münster, 1839) Olshevsky, 1978
◦Ornithocephalus longicaudus (Münster, 1839) Wagner, 1851
◦Rhamphorhynchus (Odontorhynchus) longicaudus (Münster, 1839) Stolley,
1936
•Rhamphorhynchus gemmingi (von Meyer, 1846) von Meyer, 1855
◦Pterodactylus gemmingi von Meyer, 1846
◦Pterodactylus (Rhamphorhynchus) gemmingi von Meyer, 1846
◦Ornithocephalus gemmingi (von Meyer, 1846) Wagner, 1851
◦Rhamphorhynchus (Pterodactylus) gemmingi (von Meyer, 1846) von Meyer,
1855
◦Pterodactylus lavateri von Meyer, 1838
◦Ornithopterus lavateri (von Meyer, 1838) von Meyer, 1860
◦Pterodactylus (Ornithopterus) lavateri (von Meyer, 1838) Owen, 1851
• Rhamphorhynchus suevicus O. Fraas, 1855
•Pterodactylus hirundinaceus Wagner, 1857
•Pterodactylus (Rhamphorhynchus) hirundinaceus Wagner, 1857
•Rhamphorhynchus hirundinaceus (Wagner, 1857) Wagner, 1858
•Rhamphorhynchus curtimanus Wagner, 1858
•Rhamphorhynchus longimanus Wagner, 1858
•Rhamphorhynchus meyeri Owen, 1870
•Rhamphorhynchus phyllurus Marsh, 1882
•Pteromonodactylus phyllurus (Marsh, 1882) Teriaev, 1967
•Rhamphorhynchus longiceps Woodward, 1902
◦Ornithocephalus giganteus Oken, 1819
◦Pterodactylus giganteus (Oken, 1819)
◦Pterodactylus grandis Cuvier, 1824
◦Ornithocephalus grandis (Cuvier, 1824) Wagner, 1851
◦Rhamphorhynchus grandis (Cuvier, 1824) Lydekker, 1888
◦Pterodactylus secundarius von Meyer, 1843
◦Ornithocephalus secundarius (von Meyer, 1843) Wagner, 1851
◦Rhamphorhynchus kokeni F. Plieninger, 1907
•Rhamphorhynchus megadactylus von Koenigswald, 1931
•Rhamphorhynchus carnegiei Koh, 1937