Genus
Valid Extinct

Dimorphodon

Owen 1859
Etymology Double morphologie dentaire

Dimorphodon is a genus of medium-sized pterosaur that lived in Europe during the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Dimorphodon means "two-form tooth", derived from the Greek di- (δι-) meaning 'two', morphḗ (μορφή) meaning 'shape' and odṓn (ὀδών) meaning 'tooth', referring to the fact that it had two distinct types of teeth in its jaws – which is comparatively rare among reptiles. The diet of Dimorphodon has been questioned among researchers, with earlier interpretations depicting it as an insectivore or a piscivore. Recent studies have suggested that Dimorphodon likely hunted small vertebrates, though it still would have consumed small invertebrates like insects.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
3
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Dimorphodon
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Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Pterosauria Order
Macronychoptera Unranked clade
Dimorphodontidae Family
Dimorphodon Genus
Fossil sites 3 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
2
🇲🇽 Mexico
1
Geological formations
Blue Lias
1
La Boca
1
Temporal distribution
Pliensbachian (192.9–184.2 Ma)
1
Sinemurian (199.5–192.9 Ma)
1
Hettangian (201.4–199.5 Ma)
1
Species (4)
Dimorphodon banthensis
Dimorphodon macronyx 201 Ma
Dimorphodon weintraubi 193 Ma
Pterodactylus marderi subjective synonym of Dimorphodon macronyx 201 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution.
Bibliography (3)
J. M. Clark, J. A. Hopson, and R. Hernández R., D. E. Fastovsky, M. Montellano. 1998. Foot posture in a primitive pterosaur. Nature 391:886-889 DOI ↗
K. Padian. 1983. Osteology and functional morphology of Dimorphodon macronyx (Buckland) (Pterosauria: Rhamphorhynchoidea) based on new material in the Yale Peabody Museum. Postilla 189:1-44
W. Buckland. 1829. On the discovery of a new species of Pterodactyle in the Lias at Lyme Regis. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, series 2 3:217-222 DOI ↗