Thalassodromeus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thalassodromeus Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous

Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Pterosauria
Suborder:	Pterodactyloidea
Family:	Tupuxuaridae
Genus:	Thalassodromeus
Binomial name
*Thalassodromeus sethi* Kellner & Campos, 2002

Thalassodromeus was a pterosaur found in northern Brazil. It was 60 cms long and had a wingspan of 1 metre and a head crest on its skull.

Images for kids

Although T. sethi was named after the god Seth for having a crest similar to his crown, Seth did not wear such a crown; the crest was instead similar to the crown of Amon (left, on an obelisk)
Reconstruction of the T. sethi skull, showing the possible extent of the undamaged crest and downturned jaws proposed by Headden, but not supported by Pêgas and colleagues
Cast of the T. sethi holotype skull, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Life restoration of a T. sethi pair in flight
Reconstructed skeleton of the related genus Tupuxuara in the American Museum of Natural History
Blood vessels on the crest of the T. sethi holotype cast at the CMNH
The crest of T. sethi has been compared to a toucan's bill.
It was originally suggested that T. sethi (right) fed like an extant skimmer (left), but this theory has been criticised.
Comparison of the jaw of a skimmer (a–b), Tupuxuara (c), and the jaw tip of T. oberlii (or Banguela, d), with cross-sections at right
Restoration of T. sethi wading in a marsh