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Qilong β Giraffapteryx
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Published: 2012-12-23 10:19:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 5225; Favourites: 141; Downloads: 0
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Description
Did azhdarchids stand like this? You betcha they could, but whether they were rooting around in trees, snuffling for the succulents waaaaaay the top, be it furry mammals or softer, fleshier leaves? I mena, there's not a whole not debate right now about potential herbivorous habits of azhdarchids: they are almost universally conceived to be carnivores -- as indeed are most pterosaurs. So ... a "giraffapteryx," or perhaps a "giraffazhdarcho."Related content
Comments: 18
Was this featured in All your Yesterdays? I seem to rememberΒ seeing it somewhere.
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Giraffazhdarcho camelolepardus...looks like a contemprary of Llamaposeidon. 
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Well, I was calling it "Giraffapteryx." Dunno about "Giraffazhdarcho." Might be a related species. This one could be a chaoyangopterid!
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Definitely azhdarchid. Really fruity appetite, eh?
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Most likely true of most pterosaurs.
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love the sketchy style. Sometimes these simpler styles evoke more realism than strictly technical representations. Interesting behavior to boot. I feel like true omnivory may be relatively more widespread in archosaurs than perhaps traditionally anticipated. Birds are rarely picky and even alligators and caiman have both been documented eating fruit and leaves.
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I was doodling with my writing pen, this came unbidden. I figured I'd share it, and I'm glad to see it's produced such an intereasting set of reactions, much more and varied than my more careful pencil or pen work produces.
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I don't think pterosaurs had a crop, so wouldn't leaves be too hard to digest in a stomach small enough for flight? As for searching for critters, that sounds totally plausible, it's just that I don't know if that could be a food source reliable enough for a consistent diet. I'm sure they'd do that given the chance though.
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This wouldn't be a regular thing; I try to show something more dynamic, but incidental. Never give up a meal if you need one.
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A total All Yesterdays moment!
Dougal Dixon's "lank" lives on!
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I didn't actually have speculative biology in mind for this, merely behavior. There is the impression it's herbivorous of course, and that's a fair one we can investigate with relative studies in metabolism and growth rates, and a few other less useful but informative studies such as biomass patterns (like how gigantism is about either predation on large prey, or to avoid smaller predators).
In this, I just wanted to show a giant azhdarchoid in giraffe patterns seeking to munch on something ambiguous. Glad you liked it, Memo.
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I actually never thought about this, thanks for mentioning your opinion about this
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there's some things we just will never know. ):
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I...I don't know why I never thought about this. Thanks for sharing the idea 
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