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Pteranodon

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Name:
"Pteranodon longiceps"
Abilities and weapons:
Flight, strength, jaw strength, beak, claws, talons, senses, acrobatic, peck
Occupation:
Flying Pterosaur
Home:
First appearance:
Diet:
Carnivore
Status:
Escaped when Skill Island sunk into the ocean

Pteranodon was one of the prehistoric creatures featured in the original King Kong. It is not a dinosaur but a Pterosaur, a group of prehistoric flying reptiles.

The wingspan of an adult male Pteranodon was 18 feet, while females were 12 feet. They are toothless, unlike other pterosaurs like Rhamphorhynchus and Pterodactylus.

The wing shape of Pteranodon suggests that it would have flown rather like a modern-day albatross. This is based on the fact that Pteranodon had a high aspect ratio (wingspan to chord length) similar to that of the albatross — 9:1 for Pteranodon, compared to 8:1 for an albatross. Albatrosses spend long stretches of time at sea fishing, and use a flight pattern called "dynamic soaring" which exploits the vertical gradient of wind speed near the ocean surface to travel long distances without flapping, and without the aid of thermals (which do not occur over the open ocean the same way they do over land).

While most of a Pteranodon's flight would have depended on soaring, like long-winged seabirds, it probably required an occasional active, rapid burst of flapping, and studies of Pteranodon wing loading (the strength of the wings vs. the weight of the body) indicate that they were capable of substantial flapping flight, contrary to some earlier suggestions that they were so big they could only glide.

Science facts[]

Pteranodon is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with wingspans over 7 meters. They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

King Kong[]

Pter1

Kong fighting with Pteranodon

A Pteranodon appeared in the original King Kong. It flew at Ann Darrow and tried to snatch her up, but Kong appeared and killed the Pterosaur while Jack rescued Anne. Kong was then biting on it or eating and then later tossed its carcass down the mountain.

Other Media[]

Pteranodons appear in the series, as well as its subsequent follow-up movies.

Pilot-Pteranodon

Trivia[]

  • The Pteranodon was replaced by a swarm of Terapusmordax in the 2005 remake, huge man eating flying rodents.
  • The Pteranodon is orange in the colorized version.
  • In the King Kong show, a Pteranodon catches an armadillo as prey.
  • In Kong: the Animated Series, they used as flying mounts by the protagonists with Lua controlling them.
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