Pterorhynchus wellnhoferi

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Time: Jurassic (~164–160 million years ago)

Region: Inner Mongolia, China

Formation: Tiaojishan Formation

Coloration Data

Preserved markings on the cranial crest of pterosaur specimen CAGS02-IG-gausa-2/M 608 (Pterorhynchus wellnhoferi) reveal a distinct pattern of alternating bands. The precise pigment hues of the crest and the coloration of the remainder of the body were not reconstructed.

Method: Visual macroscopic examination of fossilized soft-tissue impressions (markings on the crest).

Publications

• Stephen A. Czerkas & Qiang Ji (2002)
  The original description of the holotype of the pterosaur Pterorhynchus wellnhoferi. Published in the book “Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight,” published by the Dinosaur Museum in Blanding, Utah, USA.
• Arindam Roy, Michael Pittman, Evan T. Saitta, Thomas G. Kaye, Xing Xu (2020)
  An overview article on the paleo‑coloration of amniotes.
• Jakob Vinther (2015)
  An overview of methods for reconstructing paleo‑coloration.

Documents and files

• Czerkas_&_Ji_2002_abridged.pdf (PDF)
  Abridged version of Stephen A. Czerkas & Qiang Ji (2002) from The Dinosaur Museum, Utah.
• Roy_et_al_2020.pdf (PDF)
  Review article on amniote paleocolor in Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
• Vinther_2015.pdf (PDF)
  Review article on fossil color reconstruction.

Reconstructions

Fossils

Size comparison