Dimorphodon

Dimorphodon
Temporal range: Early Jurassic (Sinemurian), 201.3–189.6 Ma
Reconstruction skeleton in flying pose at the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Clade: Macronychoptera
Family: Dimorphodontidae
Subfamily: Dimorphodontinae
Seeley, 1870
Genus: Dimorphodon
Owen, 1859
Type species
Dimorphodon macronyx
(Buckland, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Pterodactylus macronyx Buckland, 1829
  • Pterodactylus (Rhamphorhynchus) macronyx (Buckland, 1829)

Dimorphodon (/dˈmɔːrfədɒn/ dy-MOR-fə-don) was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from Europe during the early Jurassic Period (about 201-191 million years ago).[1] It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek di- (δι-) meaning 'two', morphḗ (μορφή) meaning 'shape' and odṓn (ὀδών) meaning 'tooth', referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws – which is comparatively rare among reptiles. The diet of Dimorphodon has been questioned among researchers, with earlier interpretations depicting it as an insectivore or a piscivore. Recent studies have suggested that Dimorphodon likely hunted small vertebrates, though it still would have consumed soft invertebrates like insects.

  1. ^ Müller R.T., Ezcurra M.D., Garcia M.S., Agnolín F.L., Stocker M.R., Novas F.E., Soares M.B., Kellner A.W.A. & Nesbitt S.J. (2023). ”New reptile shows dinosaurs and pterosaurs evolved among diverse precursors”. Nature 620(7974): p. 589–594. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06359-z