Page 45 - Prehistoric Animals

Die-MOrf-O-Don

Dimorphodon

Dimorphodon (two-form tooth) was a genus of
medium-sized pterosaur*, and roamed the planet in the
early Jurassic Period, about 175 million to 160 million
years ago. First discovered in 1828 by, Mary Anning, in
England, it was named Dimorphodon in 1859 by Richard
Owen.

Dimorphodon was about 1 metre long, with a 1.5
metre wingspan. It had a long tail at the end of which is
believed to have been a tail vane. Its head was large, with
a beak some would describe as ‘puffin-like.’ Its name,
meaning two-form tooth, is apt, because it had two differ-
ent sets of teeth. Its front jaw teeth were long and pro-
truded outwards, suggesting they may have been used for
grabbing prey, while those behind them were short and
compact and could have been used for chewing or grind-
ing.

Although fossils can never tell the whole story they
can tell us a lot about a particular species. For instance,
Dimorphodon was a bird with wings, but did it actually
fly like a bird, soaring and gliding through the air? The
fossil evidence doesn’t seem to support this. Its wings are
too small to support its bulky body. It lacks those aerody-
namic features associated with birds that soar and glide
through the air. Dimorphodon would have flown, but it’s
believed only in short bursts across a short area.

With no fossil evidence of what Dimorphodon ate,
some first believed - as most of the fossils found were
close to the shore- it was a fish eater. However, with clos-
er studies, many concluded Dimorphodon was more like-
ly to be an insectivore and lived on insects. Others
thought this unlikely. Dimorphodon was simply too big
to have lived solely on insects. Further studies of Dimor-
phodon teeth showed them to be capable of crushing
small vertebrate. The need to chase and catch small fast
moving mammals or lizards, would account for its short
burst of flight for speed, and the large protruding teeth
for snatching up its scurrying prey. It was finally decided
that Dimorphodon must have been a vertebrate predator.

*An extinct reptile of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a bird-
like beak and membranous wings supported by the very long fourth digit of
each forelimb