Batrachognathus
| Batrachognathus Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
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| Skeletal restoration of the holotype by Jaime Headden | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Family: | †Anurognathidae |
| Genus: | †Batrachognathus Ryabinin , 1948
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| Species: | †B. volans
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| Binomial name | |
| †Batrachognathus volans Ryabinin, 1948
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Batrachognathus is an
paleontologist Anatoly Nicolaevich Ryabinin. The type species is Batrachognathus volans. The genus name is derived from Greek batrakhos, "frog" and gnathos, "jaw", in reference to the short wide head. The specific epithet means "flying" in Latin
.
Description
anurognathid
jaw shape, notice Batrachognathus (A)Batrachognathus was a small pterosaur, with a wingspan of 50–75 cm (1 ft 8 in – 2 ft 6 in) and body mass of 40 g (1.4 oz).[1][2][3] Like all anurognathids Batrachognathus is assumed to have been an insectivore, catching insects and perhaps small fish on the wing with its broad mouth.[4]
Three fossils have been found in a
PIN 52-2, an incomplete and disarticulated skeleton consisting of skull fragments, jaws, vertebrae, ribs, legs and wing bones. The skull of 48 mm (1.9 in) long is high, short and broad. The upper jaws have in total 22 or 24 recurved conical teeth; with the lower jaws they make a short and very wide mouth. The animal is not preserved with a tail. Whether it had one is debatable; usually it is assumed a short tail was present.[4]
Classification
Batrachognathus was assigned to the
phylogenetic analysis conducted by Xuefang Wei and colleagues recovered Batrachognathus within the subfamily Batrachognathinae, sister taxon to the genus Sinomacrops.[6]
Below is a cladogram representing their phylogenetic analysis:
| Anurognathidae |
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See also
References
Further reading
- Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Creatures, edited by Ingrid Cranfield, 2000 Salamander Books Ltd pg 280-281.
