abbyhoward

Extinct Creatures-- Tupandactylus imperator

Added 2016-09-29 16:27:03 +0000 UTC

Check THIS guy out. What a handsome boy he is! The male Tupandactlyus imperator had probably the largest crest of any known pterosaur, making him a special friend indeed. This species lived in the mid-Cretaceous of what is now Brazil, and was another example of pterosaurs with unique feeding habits. It's been theorized they were nut and seed eaters, rather than fish-eaters. I realize now I have not actually posted a single pterosaur that ate fish but I swear, most of them did.

Pterosaurs are pretty famous for all their incredible crests-- Tupandactylus (both imperator and navigans, whose crest is also super neat) is far from the only one with huge head gear. The crests aren't used for any sort of rudder or sail while flying, despite how sail-like some of them may look, but rather as a flashy display for ~the ladies~. Some theorize they may also be used as a means for species to identify others of their kind, but the fact that most species have clear sexual dimorphism really drives home what their main purpose probably was.

Sexual dimorphism, in case you've never heard it phrased that way, is when the sexes of a species are very distinct from one another, such as males having a huge three-foot crest protruding from their skulls and/or brightly colored plumage. It's usually also paired with complex social behaviors between the males and females, which is always very fun to study because it can involve cute dances. It makes me very sad that we will never know what kind of cute dances pterosaurs may have had...

Also, a fun thing about sexual dimorphism in ancient creatures is that it can be a little tough to tell sometimes if you are looking at the fossils of two distinct species or if you're looking at a male and female of the same species. But paleontologists are pretty quick to figure it out based on other distinct characteristics! They are good at their jobs.

Hope you have a nice day, my friends--

-Abby