Sordes
Sordes was a small flying reptile that lived about 155 million years ago. It had furry, hair-like coverings on its body and wings, making it look a bit like a tiny dragon. It was not a dinosaur, but a pterosaur, a close cousin of dinosaurs.13
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Fun facts
Sordes was the first pterosaur to show clear evidence of hair-like filaments, called pycnofibres, covering its body. This was a big clue that pterosaurs were warm-blooded.1
Its wings were relatively short, and it had a long tail that made up more than half its total length. The tail ended in a diamond-shaped vane.1
The skull of Sordes was about 8 cm (3.2 inches) long, and it had no head crest, unlike many other pterosaurs.1
The wing membrane of Sordes was attached to its legs, and there was also a membrane between its legs, which helped with flying and gliding.1
Most asked questions about Sordes
?What did Sordes eat?
It likely ate insects or amphibians. Its front teeth were good for catching slippery prey, and its back teeth were for crushing.1
?How big was Sordes?
About 0.63 metres across the wings, and its skull was only 8 cm long.1
?Why is it called Sordes?
Its name means 'hairy devil' in Latin. 'Sordes' means 'filth' or 'scum', but the scientist who named it intended 'evil spirit'.1
?Did Sordes have feathers?
No, it had hair-like filaments called pycnofibres covering its body and wings, not feathers. These helped keep it warm.1
?Where was Sordes discovered?
In Kazakhstan, in the Karabastau Formation from the Late Jurassic period.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Sordes was a dinosaur because it lived long ago and had a long tail.
Truth: Sordes was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, not a dinosaur. Pterosaurs are a separate group of reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Sordes
- Named by
- Sharov 19713
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Rhamphorhynchidae3
- Classification
- Pterosauria > Rhamphorhynchidae3
- Age of the rocks
- 162 to 155 million years (Oxfordian)3
- Rock formations
- Karabastau3
- Countries
- Kazakhstan3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Sordes was named in 1971 by Aleksandr Grigorevich Sharov. The first fossil was found in the 1960s in the Karatau mountains of Kazakhstan.13
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether the hair-like structures on Sordes were true hairs or just fibres from the wing membrane. Also, its exact place in the pterosaur family tree is not settled.12
Where the facts come from
- Sordes (en.wikipedia.org)
- Pterosaur Database - Making Pterosaurs Fly (pterosaur.org.uk)
- Sordes in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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