Thalassodromeus sethi DGM 1476-R (Kellner and Campos 2002) ~110 mya, Late Aptian, Early Cretaceous, ~1.4 m skull length, was derived from a sister to Tupuxuara longicristatus and represents the last of this lineage.
Distinct from Tupuxuara longicristatus, the skull of Thalassodromeus had a greatly expanded combined rostral and cranial crest that expanded further posteriorly. The lower orbit was almost completely ossified. The postorbital process of the jugal was nearly at right angles to the jawline. Two fenestra perforated the crest above the orbit. The posterior jugal was deeper.
Countering earlier claims by Kellner and Campus (2002), Humphries et al. (2007) concluded that pterosaurs did not skim feed based on their studies with a jaw fragment they attributed to Thalassodromeus. Unfortunately that jaw fragment was that of a dsungaripterid. There are plenty of pterosaurs with an extremely thin mandible tip, such as Pteranodon and Nyctosaurus. The jaw tips are unknown in Thalassodromeus, but in sister taxa, such as Tupuxuara, the jaws are also quite narrow at the tip.
The family tree of the Ornithocephalia and Germanodactylia is here. The expanded family tree of the Pterosauria is here. |