1. Education

Discuss in my forum

Pterodaustro

By , About.com Guide

pterodaustro

Pterodaustro (Nobu Tamura)

Name:

Pterodaustro (Greek for "southern wing"); pronounced TEH-roe-DAW-stroh

Habitat:

Lakes and seashores of South America

Historical Period:

Early Cretaceous (140-130 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

Wingspan of 4 feet and 5-10 pounds

Diet:

Plankton and small crustaceans

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Long, curved beak with numerous bristlelike teeth

About Pterodaustro:

The modern bird that's most often compared to the South American Pterodaustro is the flamingo, which this pterosaur closely resembled in appearance, if not in every aspect of its anatomy. Based on its thousand or so distinctive, bristlelike teeth, paleontologists believe that the early Cretaceous Pterodaustro dipped its curved beak into the water to filter out plankton, small crustaceans, and other tiny aquatic creatures. Since shrimp and plankton are predominantly pink, some of these scientists also speculate that Pterodaustro may have had a distinctly pinkish hue, another trait it would have shared with modern flamingos. (By the way, in case you were wondering, pterosaurs weren't directly ancestral to prehistoric birds, which descended instead from small, feathered dinosaurs.)

  1. About.com
  2. Education
  3. Dinosaurs
  4. Types of Dinosaurs
  5. Pterosaurs A to Z
  6. Pterodaustro - About.com Pterosaurs

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.