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Slab showing much of the skeleton of Dimorphodon
macronyx from the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. The skull appears to be very large. In life it would have been very light. The eye socket is at the top, near the back of the skull. |
Skull
The skulls of pterosaurs are very light in structure, though the fossil process can make them appear to be much heavier to the untrained eye. The most solid parts of the skull are the ends of the jaw (premaxilla and dentry) and the hinge region of the jaw (quadrate bone). These are often the parts that will survive to become fossilised.
Teeth are also quite durable and may survive when no other remains can. Of course many species of pterosaur had reduced teeth or no teeth at all.
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Slab showing much of the skeleton of Dimorphodon
macronyx from the Lias of Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. The skull appears to be very large. In life it would have been very light. The eye socket is at the top, near the back of the skull. |
