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==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
*[[Walking with Dinosaurs]] (not identified)
 
 
*[[Land of Giants]] (appears briefly, Nigel feeds one a fish.)
 
*[[Land of Giants]] (appears briefly, Nigel feeds one a fish.)
 
*[[Sea Monsters]] (appears in the "''Hell's aquarium''" segment and is nearly killed by a [[Xiphactinus]]; it then spends the rest of the segment perched on the boat.)
 
*[[Sea Monsters]] (appears in the "''Hell's aquarium''" segment and is nearly killed by a [[Xiphactinus]]; it then spends the rest of the segment perched on the boat.)

Revision as of 20:49, 7 April 2009

Pteranodon

Pteranodon on a boat.

Pteranodon is a prehistoric animal in Impossible pictures. One of the most famous pterosaurs in culture, also known as Pterodactyl.

Paleobiology

Pteranodon is known for its protruding head crest, which was as long as the trunk of its body. Connected to the beak, the crest made Pteranodon's head nearly six-feet-long. The function of this crest is unknown. Many believe it was used to balance its head in flight, but recent findings render this theory obsolete. It is more likely that its crest was used as a method of communication, possibly even a dazzling mating display.

It was among the largest of all Pterosaurs, with a wingspan of thirty-feet from tip to tip. It spent almost its whole life in the air, plucking fish from the surface of the Tethys sea, before swallowing it whole, as it had no teeth. It landed only to mate, nest, or rest.

If the creature were ever to find themselves unable to fly, they would die, either of starvation or perhaps predation from a fierce carnivorous animal such as Tyrannosaurus rex.

It was first discovered in 1876, and at the time it was an instant celebrity in the Paleontology field. At the time of its discovery, it was thought that if it had got any bigger it would be unable to fly, but this was debunked with the discovery of the thirty-six-foot Quetzalcoatlus.

Pteranodon, like most Pterosaurs at the time, did not have teeth. Thats why its name means "Toothless Flier".

Pteranodon's diet comprised mostly of fish, but apparently, it also included lizards, small land animals, and insects.


Appearances

  • Land of Giants (appears briefly, Nigel feeds one a fish.)
  • Sea Monsters (appears in the "Hell's aquarium" segment and is nearly killed by a Xiphactinus; it then spends the rest of the segment perched on the boat.)
  • Primeval (a mutant Pteranodon appears in episode 5 in which it is thought to have killed a golfer; it later appears in episode 8 attacking Helen when she tries to steal its egg.)