rhamphorhynchoidadj.n.
/ˌramfə(ʊ)ˈrɪŋkɔɪd/, U.S. /ˌræmfəˈrɪŋˌkɔɪd/ Palaeontology.
A. adj.
Of or relating to the suborder or superfamily Rhamphorhynchoidea of pterosaurs of the late Triassic and the Jurassic, characterized by small size and a long tail stiffened with ligaments. Cf. pterodactyloid adj.The suborder is now seldom used as a formal taxon as it is paraphyletic and represents relatively unspecialized basal forms.
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the world > animals > reptiles > extinct reptiles and dinosaurs > [adjective] > of order Sauria > of or belonging to Pterosauria > belonging to suborder Rhamphorhynchoidea
rhamphorhynchoid1895
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II. at Rhamphorhynchidæ Rhamphorhynchoid, a.
1945 A. S. Romer Vertebr. Paleontol. (ed. 2) xxviii. 543 The rhamphorhynchoid type is extinct, and by the Upper Cretaceous we find surviving only short-tailed pterodactyloids.
1981 Jrnl. Paleontol. 55 1117 The first record of a rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur from North America.
2000 Nature 27 Apr. 953/1 Several typically Late Jurassic lineages (compsognathid theropod dinosaurs, ‘rhamphorhynchoid’ pterosaurs, primitive mammals) survived into the Early Cretaceous.
B. n.
A rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur.
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the world > animals > reptiles > extinct reptiles and dinosaurs > [noun] > Sauria > member of order Pterosauria > rhamphorhynchoid
Rhamphorhynchus1847
rhamphorhynchoid1939
1939 P. E. Raymond Prehistoric Life xvii. 167 The rhamphorhynchoids are considered somewhat less specialized than other pterosaurs.
1977 Jrnl. Paleontol. 51 869/1 The length ratios of metacarpal IV to phalanx I in various pterodactyloid species ranges from 0.65..to 0.85... In rhamphorhynchoids, this ratio is usually about 0.2.
1999 Nature 15 Apr. 573/3 Only the Middle Jurassic Angustinaripterus from Dashanpu, Sichuan, is a non-pterodactyloid (traditionally ‘rhamphorhynchoids’, a paraphyletic taxon).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1895