Georg Graf zu Munster's Beaked Snout

Rhamphorhynchus muensteri (Goldfuss, 1831) is probably one of the most iconic of Jurassic pterosaurs, next to Pterodactylus and Anurognathus. Discovered in 1825 in the Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, Germany (possibly other remains from England, Tanzania, and Spain), Rhamphorhynchus once had more than 14 species, now known to have been different ontogenetic stages. These ranged from juveniles with foot-long wingspans to adults with 5.9 wingspans, almost as big as that of a pelican's. One of the most intriguing of specimens is that of WDC CSG 255, which is an adult with a Leptolepides in its pharynx being in the jaws of an Aspidorhynchus, with its spiked snout spearing its left wing. The Rhamphorhynchus and the Aspidorhynchus both died during the encounter, with the pair sinking into an anoxic layer in the body of water they were in, suffocating the fish and drowning the pterosaur. When compared to those of modern birds and reptiles, Rhamphorhynchus's scleral rings suggested that this pterosaur might have been nocturnal. Although commonly depicted as an aerial piscivore, like a skimmer, Rhamphorhynchus actually hunted while swimming, floating on water, and then diving down to hunt for small fish. The closest phylogenetic relatives of Rhamphorhynchus are the Cuban rhamphorhynchines Cacibubpteryx caribensis and Nesodactylus hesperius. This one in particular is based upon the holotype specimen BSP Inv. Nr. 1964 XXIV 121.