Miscellaneous Pterosaur heads by Tuomas Koivurinne.
Pteranodon sternbergi, Pteranodon longiceps, Azhdarcho lancicollis and Tropeognathus robustus, Tupandactylus imperator, Tapejara wellnhoferi, Dsungaripterus weii, Rhamphorhynchus intermedius, Rhamphorhynchus longiceps.
Plesiosaurus
“Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus lived during the early Jurassic Period and was about 3 metres (9.8 feet) long. Animals are modelled with Lightwave3D.”
Dallasaurus.
One of the earliest and smallest of the mosasaurs. It lived during the Upper Cretaceous, and was only around a metre in length (whereas the later Tylosaurus and Mosasaurus exceeded 15 feet in length).
Its closest living relative is the Komodo Dragon.
Maiacetus, Early Whale Ancestor with Webbed Feet
This early whale was well suited to life at sea. But it also lived on land. An ancestor of whales, Maiacetus lived 49-40 million years ago. It had flipper-like limbs and webbed feet, like modern seals. But it also had ankle bones - clues that although Maiacetus swam, its ancestors walked. As later whales evolved to become more aquatic, the telltale anklebone disappeared.
Learn more about ancient whales on our Paleobiology Blog.
(via: Smitshonian’s Ocean Portal)
(image: John Klausmeyer/Univ. of Mich. Mus. of Natural History)
