Image: Dimorphodon mount

Description: Mounted skeleton of the small Early Jurassic pterosaur Dimorphodon, sitting on the back (dorsal osteoderms) of a mounted skeleton of the aetosaur Desmatosuchus. Since the latter genus actually lived in the early Late Triassic, such an arrangement seems somewhat anachronistic, but here it stands for the presence of a small indeterminable pterosaur, which may have been similar in appearance to Dimorphodon, in the fossil fauna of the Upper Triassic beds (Chinle Formation) of the Petrified Forest National Park. Original comment on the photo at flickr: “This is a very cool National Park southeast of Holbrook, AZ - well worth the detour. Heather Rice and I checked out this park as part of her American Southwest Sampler tour. We started at the southern entrance, stopping first at the Visitor Center and taking some small trails to look at the petrified wood up close and personal. The colors are amazing. We walked to the Agate House - very impressive. All sorts and sizes of petrified wood everywhere - I wondered how much is still there, uncovered. As you drive north, the landscape changes dramatically. Weird looking hills, Blue Mesa, and then you come to the Painted Desert lookouts. I wish we spent more time there but we still had a long drive ahead of us. Guess we have to go back again!! We visited this park in March 2014.”
Title: Dimorphodon mount
Credit: Dinosaur skeleton at the Rainbow Forest Museum
Author: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes