Pterosaur Skull Forms
Rhamphorhynchoids - which have long tails and small wing metacarpal bones. These are the earliest types of pterosaurs
Pterodactyloids - which have short tails and long wing metacarpal bones. These pterosaurs eventually evolved into the largest flying animals ever known on Earth.
Rhamphorhynchoid Wing Form |
Pterodactyloid Wing Form |
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These diagrams show how the earlier Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs had shorter wing metacarpals (WMC) and a longer wing finger (WP). In the later Pterodactyloid pterosaurs, the longer wing metacarpals allow for more muscle power within the wing and this would have been more efficient and better to control in flight.