Dimorphodon
| Dimorphodon Temporal range: Early Jurassic (Sinemurian), | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction skeleton in flying pose at the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Clade: | †Macronychoptera |
| Family: | †Dimorphodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Dimorphodontinae Seeley, 1870 |
| Genus: | †Dimorphodon Owen, 1859 |
| Type species | |
| †Dimorphodon macronyx (Buckland, 1829) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Dimorphodon (/daɪˈmɔːrfədɒn/ dy-MOR-fə-don) is a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from Europe during the early Jurassic Period (about 201-191 million years ago). 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 soft invertebrates like insects.