regarding the naris on pterodacs

[david peters <davidrpeters@earthlink.net>]

Since Jaime brought this up...

http://www.pterosaurinfo.com/amnh1942_snout_recon.html

shows my take on what appears to be happening on a very tiny, early 
pterodactyloid, AMNH 1942. Perhaps the external naris was separate from the 
antorbital fenestra in this case.

Crushing shifts elements and breaks thin bones. If there is a better 
explanation for what is happening, of course I would embrace it.

The red arrow on the photo (courtesy of Chris Bennett's website) points to a 
dendrite that I considered a tooth earlier. My mistake. Happens all the time. 
The epipalatine labeled on the photo is a bone derived from the fusion of the 
epipterygoid and palatine in basal pterosaurs. 


David Peters
St. Louis