New pterosaur in Science

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org

In case this item has not been posted yet, the latest 
issue of Science has a new pterosaur:.

Kellner, Alexander W. A.  and Diogenes de Almeida Campos, 
2002. The Function of the Cranial Crest and Jaws of a 
Unique Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. 
Science 297 (5580): 389-392. (19 Jul 2002) 
The discovery of a previously undescribed pterosaur, 
Thalassodromeus sethi, yields information on the function 
of cranial crests and the feeding strategy developed by 
these extinct flying reptiles. The material consists of a 
large skull (length: 1420 millimeters, including the 
crest) with a huge bony crest that was well irrigated by 
blood vessels and may have been used for regulation of its 
body temperature. The rostrum consists of two bladelike 
laminae, the arrangement of which is analogous to the 
condition found in the bird Rynchops, which skims over the 
water to catch food, indicating that T. sethi also may 
have been a skimmer.