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Description
Oh my gosh it looks so weird, with its big head and feet and teeny tiny body it looks like a hobbit with wings

This is as CLOSE as I will EVER get to drawing a stereotypical graspy footed people bodied "Pturdodacdul" (like one of those nasty mutant things from Jurassic World ) ... Well, unless it's to show how NOT to draw pterosaurs...

So for the seventh species showcase we have our first Pterasimian ! This particular species comes from the family Alaraptoria, more commonly known as the "raptor" pterasimians. Now, I do have a confession to make; I actually specifically designed these guys around the whole "man eating pturdodacdul" stereotype (although the whole "unholy relentless unstoppable evil flying monster that even bullets can't stop" thing was left out). This is a pterosaur that would gladly hunt and eat humans, although it won't be carrying them with its feet. For the design, I decided to give it short[er], broad wings with a highly rounded edge, something that is vital for most soaring predatory fliers. I also gave the trailing edge fuzz, which, believe it or not, actually existed in real pterosaurs ! The fuzz would help break up the surface of the edge, muffling any noise made by flapping/flying. Like most pterosaurs, the body is small and the head is large, although I made the ratio a bit more modest. Likewise the beak is quite large, more akin to a terror bird than a bird of prey (a "pterror bird" if you will ). I made the legs much more robust than that of some of my other pterasimians, such as Homopteranus unlikelus, which would be needed for an animal who uses them for heavy duty work. The ears are also pointy, like an elf, which helps refine their hearing even more. Pterasimians are champs at hearing (even surpassing mammals thanks to a unique inner ear structure), so ear shape is very important to them.

Big and fierce, these pterosaurs truly live up to their names. This particular species is the black crested Pterogorgon (Beccustheno cornunigrum), a native of the great redwood rain forests. While certainly not the biggest of the "raptor" pterasimians, standing at three feet and having an eight foot wingspan, it out measures almost all of the birds that live on Pterearth. Despite the presence of birds of prey and large theropods in its environment, it manages to carve out a living by being a flying butcher, able to kill things several times its own size. Short, rounded wings lined with fuzzy pycnofibers (pterosaur hair) make it a silent killer. It hunts by quietly flying between the great tree trunks of the forest, using its keen hearing and eyesight to locate any potential prey on the floor below. This adolescent male is doing just that. Still young, at only three years old, he is not quite as stealthy as his adult contemporaries. He will need to hone his hunting skills, as well as learn how to keep from being hunted himself, if he is to survive. Once he spots potential prey, he will dive down and grab it with his massive claws, then begin hammering the victims neck with the hook of his beak. The hammering severs the prey's spinal column, rendering it dead or at least unable to move so the Pterogorgon can safely feed without the fear of injury. That is to say, if he can swoop down without notice, which at this point he might not be able to do. Only time, and practice, will tell.

-And as always, critique is highly welcome. Please feel free to indulge in the scientific jargon that is speculative biology with me!-

--
All current Pterraforming info and pictures can be found here in the Pterraforming folder of my gallery. You can also find it under #pterraforming #pterasimian and #homopteranus

Other creatures in this series:
Red throated titanodactyl (a titanodactyl/titanodactylid)
Great dragon spearbeak (a spearbeak/iaculumarchid)

Bennett's waveridge (an unguldactyloid/unguldactylid)
Chupacabeak (a spearbeak/iaculumarchid)
Raptodinosauroid (A ruling raptor/tyrranoraptorid)
Spotted sealbill (A sealbill/pteropinniped)
Northern Mudstilt (A pterasimian)
Southern Whalebone Biter (A pterasimian)
King Drayix (A regemtaurosaurid)
Bornean Gorillawing and Ferntail (A "gorilla" pterasimian and frondtail-raptor/feugeraraptorid)

ORIGUNUL SPESHIEZ DONUT STEEL!!! /s

Description
Oh my gosh it looks so weird, with its big head and feet and teeny tiny body it looks like a hobbit with wings

This is as CLOSE as I will EVER get to drawing a stereotypical graspy footed people bodied "Pturdodacdul" (like one of those nasty mutant things from Jurassic World ) ... Well, unless it's to show how NOT to draw pterosaurs...

So for the seventh species showcase we have our first Pterasimian ! This particular species comes from the family Alaraptoria, more commonly known as the "raptor" pterasimians. Now, I do have a confession to make; I actually specifically designed these guys around the whole "man eating pturdodacdul" stereotype (although the whole "unholy relentless unstoppable evil flying monster that even bullets can't stop" thing was left out). This is a pterosaur that would gladly hunt and eat humans, although it won't be carrying them with its feet. For the design, I decided to give it short[er], broad wings with a highly rounded edge, something that is vital for most soaring predatory fliers. I also gave the trailing edge fuzz, which, believe it or not, actually existed in real pterosaurs ! The fuzz would help break up the surface of the edge, muffling any noise made by flapping/flying. Like most pterosaurs, the body is small and the head is large, although I made the ratio a bit more modest. Likewise the beak is quite large, more akin to a terror bird than a bird of prey (a "pterror bird" if you will ). I made the legs much more robust than that of some of my other pterasimians, such as Homopteranus unlikelus, which would be needed for an animal who uses them for heavy duty work. The ears are also pointy, like an elf, which helps refine their hearing even more. Pterasimians are champs at hearing (even surpassing mammals thanks to a unique inner ear structure), so ear shape is very important to them.

Big and fierce, these pterosaurs truly live up to their names. This particular species is the black crested Pterogorgon (Beccustheno cornunigrum), a native of the great redwood rain forests. While certainly not the biggest of the "raptor" pterasimians, standing at three feet and having an eight foot wingspan, it out measures almost all of the birds that live on Pterearth. Despite the presence of birds of prey and large theropods in its environment, it manages to carve out a living by being a flying butcher, able to kill things several times its own size. Short, rounded wings lined with fuzzy pycnofibers (pterosaur hair) make it a silent killer. It hunts by quietly flying between the great tree trunks of the forest, using its keen hearing and eyesight to locate any potential prey on the floor below. This adolescent male is doing just that. Still young, at only three years old, he is not quite as stealthy as his adult contemporaries. He will need to hone his hunting skills, as well as learn how to keep from being hunted himself, if he is to survive. Once he spots potential prey, he will dive down and grab it with his massive claws, then begin hammering the victims neck with the hook of his beak. The hammering severs the prey's spinal column, rendering it dead or at least unable to move so the Pterogorgon can safely feed without the fear of injury. That is to say, if he can swoop down without notice, which at this point he might not be able to do. Only time, and practice, will tell.

-And as always, critique is highly welcome. Please feel free to indulge in the scientific jargon that is speculative biology with me!-

--
All current Pterraforming info and pictures can be found here in the Pterraforming folder of my gallery. You can also find it under #pterraforming #pterasimian and #homopteranus

Other creatures in this series:
Red throated titanodactyl (a titanodactyl/titanodactylid)
Great dragon spearbeak (a spearbeak/iaculumarchid)

Bennett's waveridge (an unguldactyloid/unguldactylid)
Chupacabeak (a spearbeak/iaculumarchid)
Raptodinosauroid (A ruling raptor/tyrranoraptorid)
Spotted sealbill (A sealbill/pteropinniped)
Northern Mudstilt (A pterasimian)
Southern Whalebone Biter (A pterasimian)
King Drayix (A regemtaurosaurid)
Bornean Gorillawing and Ferntail (A "gorilla" pterasimian and frondtail-raptor/feugeraraptorid)

ORIGUNUL SPESHIEZ DONUT STEEL!!! /s