Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
281 / Mesozoic
Dimorphodon
Dimorphodon macronyx
Two distinct tooth shapes gave this early pterosaur its name.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 195–190 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Jurassic
- Geographic range
- Island coasts and woodland · Southern Britain
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Dimorphodon?
Dimorphodon (Dimorphodon macronyx) was an extinct organism known from About 195–190 million years ago, with a range in Island coasts and woodland · Southern Britain.
Life and ecology
Dimorphodon had a large head, long tail and strong climbing limbs. It probably launched from coastal woodland and hunted small vertebrates or insects.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Dimorphodon disappear?
Pterosaurs diversified in the Early Jurassic, but a younger fauna does not by itself show that they replaced this local lineage.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Dimorphodon?
British skulls and skeletons preserve its two tooth types, wing fingers and stiffened tail.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS