Rhamphorynchus, "beak snout", is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. It was brought to life using the stop-motion animation talents of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen.
Overview[]
Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as Pterodactylus, it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic diamond-shaped vane. The jaws of Rhamphorhynchus housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth, indicating a diet mainly of fish and insects.
Fragmentary fossil remains possibly belonging to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in England, Tanzania, and Spain, the best-preserved specimens come from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany. Many of these fossils preserve not only the bones but impressions of soft tissues such as wing membranes. Scattered teeth believed to belong to Rhamphorhynchus have been found in Portugal as well.
One Million Years B.C.[]
As the Pteranodon captured Loana and tried to feed her to it's chicks, a Rhamphorhynchus attacked it, apparently wanting to steal the former's meal for itself, thus the two pterosaurs begin a mid air-to-air combat, in the midst of the air-to-air combat, the Pteranodon unintentionally dropped Loana into the ocean, though she survives, despite the loss of the very meal it was trying to steal, the Rhamphorhynchus was able to defeat and kill the Pteranodon, sending it crash-landing dead, and then targeted the Pteranodon chicks, also killing them as well and eating them, whom Tumak thought the Rhamphorhynchus was eating Loana, though in reality, she actually survived, but injured from the Pteranodon and laying bleeding on a bush.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Harryhausen's pterosaurs have bat-like wings whereas Willis O'Brien's pterosaurs depicted them more accurately with an expansive membrane which spread from the waist all the way to a single elongated finger bone. However, Harryhausen has since stated that he did not make One Million Years B.C. for "professors...who probably don't go to see these kinds of movies anyway." [1]
- ↑ One Million Years B.C. at Wikipedia