Rhamphorhynchus was a coast-dwelling pterosaur featured in the third episode of Walking with Dinosaurs.
Facts[]
Rhamphorhynchus was a small, long-tailed pterosaur from the Jurassic period (154-137 MYA). It had needle-like teeth for catching fish. Its wing span was roughly 2 meters (6 feet) wide. They were very capable flyers. Rhamphorhynchus fed mostly on fish, insects, and their larvae, but they also appeared to like horseshoe crab eggs. This modest-sized pterosaur was fairly wide-spread and successful. As a species of sea-dwelling pterosaurs, they evolved a unique way of catching fish without getting their wing membranes wet. Their method of catching fish was dip-feeding, lowering their bill into the water when they see fish, and catching them. The teeth of these flying reptiles may`have looked bizarre, but they were ideal for snatching slippery fish in the water. However, swallowing their catch was a different matter. The role of Rhamphorhynchus was probably like birds who live on sea coasts today: to clean the beach of the carcasses of dead animals.
In Walking With... series[]
A Rhamphorhynchus head from Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs[]
Cruel Sea[]
In the episode Cruel Sea, a colony of Rhamphorhynchus were catching small fish for dinner and they even ate grubs that are in trees. At morning, they sneak onto mating horseshoe crabs and start eating their eggs. A Eustreptospondylus appears and chases the little pterosaurs and it grabs one, but throws it and it steps on one with his foot and he picks up the Rhamphorhynchus in his jaws and eats it. A second Eustreptospondylus catches another Rhamphorhynchus and a third tries to catch the leader of the Rhamphorhynchus flock, but fails. More Rhamphorhynchus were killed by the tidal wave and the Liopleurodon was disorientated from the lucky waters and is stranded on an island beach. The Liopleurodon dies and the gathered Eustreptospondylus begin to eat it, while Rhamphorhynchus flock overhead, waiting for their turn.
Gallery[]
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