Fun Moganopterus Facts For Kids
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The Moganopterus type species is referred to as Moganopterus zhuiana.
It is believed that this new pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period used to live in Asia and its skeleton fossil was discovered in a village of Xiaosanjiazi around the town of Lamadong in the western part of the Liaoning province in China in a layer of the Yixian formation.
The Moganopterus' name originated from the mythical sword couple Mo Ye and Gan Jiang due to its blade-like jaws.
The specific name of this type species has been given to honor Ms. Zhu Haifen.
Not a lot of information can be stated about the Moganopterus' habitat but it is thought that it inhabited marine habitats and surroundings. It survived in the Barremian age.
Sexual reproduction took place in these dinosaurs and fertilized eggs were laid by the female. Whatever is known about the appearance of this large dinosaur is based on remains that had almost a complete skull, vertebrae (second and fourth neck vertebrae), and long jaws.
The skull of this toothed pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period was known to have the largest skull among all toothed pterosaurs. The number of teeth was believed to be around 62 and these teeth were pointed and conical.
The skull's back had a long parietal crest and there was a triangular crest on the front of the snout. The body was thin and it had an elongated neck.
The length of its wings is also quite long. Some cellular structures have been obtained but their nature has not yet been determined.
The typical Moganopterus diet was piscivorous or carnivorous. This pterosaur is known to have been named by Lu Junchang, Xu Li, Wei Xuefang, Wu Yanhua, and Pu Hanyong.
It is very interesting to learn about this dinosaur and if you are interested, you can read about the Puertasaurus and the Yinlong, too.
Moganopterus Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Moganopterus'?
The pronunciation of this dinosaur is 'Mong-nop-toh-rus'.
What type of dinosaur was a Moganopterus?
It is a type of pterosaur.
In which geological period did the Moganopterus roam the earth?
This new pterosaur dinosaur is known to have survived in the Barremian age and is known to have existed in the Early Cretaceous time period.
When did the Moganopterus become Extinct?
The exact time period of the extinction of this dinosaur is unknown.
Where did a Moganopterus live?
The Moganopterus' location was in Asia and its skeleton was found in the western Liaoning province, China.
What was a Moganopterus's habitat?
Not a lot of details are known about the habitat of this dinosaur species, but it was known to inhabit marine types of environments.
Who did a Moganopterus live with?
Not a lot of information is available about this dinosaur species' social behavior, such as whether it was solitary or lived in groups.
How long did a Moganopterus live?
These dinosaurs are known to have lived from the Barremian age to 113 million years ago.
How did they reproduce?
Reproduction of these dinosaurs was sexual. The male would deposit sperm in the female and then the female would lay eggs that were fertilized and had developing embryos.
Moganopterus Fun Facts
What did a Moganopterus look like?
This is a large, new pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period and its skull is considered to be the largest of all pterosaurs. Its jaw was known to be quite extended and it had straightened edges.
It is believed that the number of teeth in the skull was around 62. The skull opening was large and rectangular. The back of the skull had a long parietal crest and the front of the snout had a triangular crest which was placed low.
The jaw had conical pointed teeth. It is considered to be a quite thin and slender animal and it had a neck of an elongated length as stated by research work, studies, and analysis of the holotype specimen.
How many bones did a Moganopterus have?
It is difficult to estimate and determine the number of bones this pterosaur species had.
How did they communicate?
Communication used to take place through vocal and visual mediums that included sounds, grunts and postures, and gestures.
How big was a Moganopterus?
The length of this species from the Early Cretaceous period is estimated to be around 19.7 ft (6 m).
How fast could a Moganopterus move?
The speed of this species is unknown.
How much did a Moganopterus weigh?
No information is available about the estimated weight of these dinosaurs.
What were the male and female names of the species?
Males and females of this species did not have any specific names.
What would you call a baby Moganopterus?
The baby of this species, just like other dinosaurs, is known as a hatchling.
What did they eat?
This species was known to be a piscivore or carnivore, and it used to mainly feed on fish.
How aggressive were they?
Dinosaurs, in general, were known to be aggressive and violent.
Did you know...
The Moganopterus is considered to be one of the largest pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous period and this is what makes this species special.
The skull of this pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period is considered to be the largest of all toothed pterosaurs.
The fossil of this dinosaur was found in a village of Xiaosanjiazi around the town of Lamadong in the western part of the Liaoning province.
It was named and described in 2012 as the type species Moganopterus zhuiana by Lu Junchang, Xu Li, Wei Xuefang, Wu Yanhua, and Pu Hanyong.
The specific name 'zhuiana' of the type species Moganopterus zhuiana was given to honor Ms. Zhu Haifen, who is credited for making the specimen available to science.
It has also been recorded that this pterosaur has the longest preserved neck (cervical) vertebra.
The holotype of this species is known as 41HIII0419 and it has been recorded that it was unearthed with a layer of the Yixian formation which dated from the Aptian era, which is around 125 million years old. It had almost a complete skull, second to fourth neck vertebrae, and lower jaws.
The specimen, Moganopterus zhuiana, is now in the collection of the Geological Museum of Henan.
This species from the Early Cretaceous period was considered to be a sift-feeder like its relatives. It is believed that it might have possibly hunted fish.
There have been some cellular structures obtained whose nature has not been determined.
Research work, studies, and analysis state that the 62 teeth of this pterosaur are considered to be less than the number of teeth of other members of the family.
In 2012, Magnopterus was allocated to Boreopteridae which forms a subfamily Moganopterinae.
It belonged to the Early Cretaceous terrain or time period.
Why were they called Moganopterus?
The name of this species has been derived from the mythical sword couple Mo Ye and Gan Jiang for its blade-like jaws. The word 'pteron' has been derived from Greek and it means 'wing'.
What was unique about their wings?
The wingspan of this species from the Early Cretaceous period is estimated to be possibly around 197-275.6 in (500-700 cm).
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Zuniceratops facts and Metriorhynchus facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Moganopterus coloring pages.
The main image is by PaleoEquii.
The second image is by Tim Evanson.
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