The dosal vertebrae in most pterosaurs are few in number. For the most part, earlier species have 6 or fewer and later species have 2 or 3. In Pterodactyloids, the dorsal vertebrae are the only part of the trunk where there is a small degree of articulation.
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Typically, dorsal vertebrae are very short, with transverse processes that support floating ribs. They tend to have thicker bone cortex around the centrum than the other types of pterosaur vertebrae and the pneumatic foramen are at the proximal end of the neural arch. The example here is of the form seen in Pteranodon. The shape is similar in most pterosaurs. |
