#Archovember Day 3 - Tupandactylus navigans
There were at least two species of the Tapejarid pterosaur Tupandactylus: T. imperator (who I’ve drawn previously) and T. navigans. Of the two, T. navigans is smaller, with a straighter, more upright crest. (A 2021 study suggests that the two species could actually represent sexually dimorphic members of the same species, but more detailed study is required to support this.) Either way, Tupandactylus is known for its huge keratinous crest, and T. navigans especially for its sharp shark-fin profile. This large crest likely limited T. navigans’ flight ability, relegating it to spending most of its time on the ground, only taking short flights to evade predators.
In 2022, A specimen of Tupandactylus imperator was discovered to have very complex branching pycnofibers (feather-like filaments unique to pterosaurs) that were much closer to true feathers than previously thought possible in pterosaurs. This could be further evidence that feathers are a basal trait to Avemetatarsalians. Also, similar to Anchiornis, Tupandactylus has been found with preserved melanosomes. However, paleontologists did not attempt to infer the color of the animal, but merely noted that the melanosomes were varied between the skin of the crest and the pycnofibers on its skull, probably providing some sort of contrast for the head ornamentation. No doubt imperator’s smaller cousin navigans was similar.
Living in Early Cretaceous Brazil, Tupandactylus navigans had a diverse array of frogs, lizards, and invertebrates to prey on, including moths, lacewings, mayflies, scorpions, and solifugids. T. navigans could have also preyed on small dinosaurs and their eggs, such as Enantiornithine birds and the compsognathid Ubirajara. T. navigans would have shared its environment with many other pterosaur species, such as its cousin T. imperator, Arthurdactylus, Aymberedactylus, Brasileodactylus, Lacusovagus, and Ludodactylus.
(As I’ve drawn T. imperator previously, but not with its own size chart, I’ve chosen to include it as a bonus here so the two species can be compared. I’ve also updated my imperator design a bit, as it was drawn before the 2022 study.)
