| I still have trouble believing airplanes can fly, so don't get me started on this Pteranodon. But fly it does. Oh, and it is also known as a 'toothless wing'. Toothless, huh? Yeah, I'm not buying that either. |
Pteranodon is a genus of pteranodontid pterosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originated from Late Cretaceous North America, Pteranodon is by far the most famous pterosaur.
In Evolution, Pteranodon was included in Return to Jurassic Park, and is unique among all species, being bred and released in the Aviary, rather than a normal enclosure. Its fossils are unlocked on 1993 Isla Nublar and can then be excavated from the Pierre Shale, Smoky Hill Chalk, and Niobrara Formation dig sites. Pteranodon later becomes available in the main campaign by progressing through the Security Division on Isla Sorna.
Pteranodon then returned in the base game of Evolution 2, now with its design from Jurassic World, but was later given a 2001 Variant, based on its design in Jurassic Park III.
History
During the Late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, a flock of Pteranodon was feasting on a carcass by a lake near a herd of Dreadnoughtus before a Quetzalcoatlus scared them off. Another Pteranodon flock was nesting around a river.[1]
Pteranodon were recreated by InGen on Isla Sorna, intending to exhibit them at the Jurassic Park Aviary prior to the 1993 incident. Following the incident, Sorna's Pteranodon population was mostly confined to the Isla Sorna Aviary but some were known to have escaped into the surrounding landscape at some point prior to 2001. In 2001, during the Isla Sorna Rescue Mission, Eric Kirby, Alan Grant, and others would encounter Sorna's aviary and be attacked by its Pteranodon inhabitants. During the attack, the main gate to the aviary was left unlocked, leading to the escape of many Pteranodon.[2] These escaped Pteranodon would later be captured by the InGen Security Division headed by Masrani Global.[3]
Pteranodons will sometimes fly around the islands as ambient creatures.
Between the opening of Jurassic World and until 2015, numerous Pteranodon were exhibited in the Jurassic World Aviary alongside the Dimorphodon. The Aviary would later be compromised during the 2015 Isla Nublar Incident by the rampaging Indominus rex, allowing the pterosaur population to escape and attack the park guests.[4] After the abandonment of Nublar and prior to the eruption of Mt. Sibo, the now wild Pteranodon population roamed the island undisturbed.
In 2018, with the eruption of Mt. Sibo, many Pteranodon were captured and taken to the Lockwood Manor in California. Maisie Lockwood would later release them into the wild; where they quickly traveled across North America, going as far as Las Vegas within the year.[5] A year after the events at Lockwood Manor, a Pteranodon was recorded catching a wedding dove.[6]
Four years after the events at Lockwood Manor, several Pteranodon were taken to a sanctuary created by BioSyn while others were seen migrating alongside modern birds and other pterosaurs.[1]
Characteristics
One of the largest pterosaurs ever to have existed with a wingspan stretching up to over 7 meters and easily recognizable thanks to the crest on the top of its skull (which it uses for display purposes), Pteranodon is a genus of Late Cretaceous pterosaur, flying reptiles that ā while not dinosaurs themselves ā share the clade Avemetatarsalia with dinosaurs. Although its diet consists largely of fish, Pteranodon does not have teeth, chewing its prey with its beak ā in fact, its name is derived from Greek and translates to "Toothless Wing". These reptiles would have been extremely light and delicate in order to be able to fly. It is likely that Pteranodon was a coastal animal that roosted offshore, out of reach of predators. Fossil evidence suggests a toothless jaw with a pouch of skin that held fish, like modern pelicans, and a crest that could have acted as a counterbalance when skimming the water's surface.
In Evolution, the base cosmetic genome of the Pteranodon has a dark brown base with creamy yellow countershading along the body and the wings. They are enclosed exclusively in aviaries, and each aviary can exhibit up to six individuals. There are multiple viewing points where guests can observe the animals up-close. In Evolution 2, the base cosmetic genome of Pteranodon is gray bodies with either dark red or blue heads and orange wing membranes. Additionally, like other pterosaurs in Evolution 2, Pteranodon can not only escape aviaries, but can also attack and kill guests.
Gameplay
Evolution
Behaviour
Every Pteranodon present within the aviary will preform a looped animation, occasionally flying to another part of the aviary. If the aviary is damaged by a storm, the Pteranodon will escape and despawn after flying at a certain height. Pteranodon will also fly around the islands as ambient animals.
Unlike other species in the game which are susceptible to diseases and attacks, Pteranodon can only die from natural causes related to its lifespan. Despite being considered piscivores, they do not require a feeder to survive.
Available genomes
| Fossil icon | Dig site | Quality | Number available |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Pierre Shale |    
|
1 3 6 4 |
| Smoky Hill Chalk |
|
1 3 6 4 |
Skins
Evolution 2
Cosmetics
Skins
Paleontology
By far the most well-known species of pterosaur, the first Pteranodon remains found by American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in 1870 to 1872, in the Late Cretaceous Smoky Hill Chalk deposits of western Kansas, when he unearthed numerous skulls, wings, and finger bones among other marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. The first pterosaur discovered outside of Europe, it was originally deemed a species of the much smaller and earlier Pterodactylus, but that changed in 1876 when its skull with no teeth was discovered, and thus its lack of teeth lend it its name and classified as a new genus. Marsh named the new species Pteranodon longiceps, with the specific name referring to the "Long Head" of the animal. Since then, hundreds of specimens have been found, from all stages of development.
Pteranodons inside the Aviary.
Pteranodon was among the largest pterosaurs, with wingspans of 3.7 to 7.6 m (12 to 25 ft) wide and body mass of 20 to 93 kg (44 to 205 lb). Originally, many different Pteranodon species were named, due to some individuals being larger and having a noticeable crest, but paleontologists have discovered those differences are due to sexual dimorphism, with females being smaller and crestless. Today, only two species are generally recognized: the traditional, straight crested Pteranodon longiceps, and the curve-crested Pteranodon sternbergi, which is sometimes classified as its own separate genus, Geosternbergia.
Paleoecology
Pteranodon lived 90ā70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period and is native to North America ā particularly in and around the Western Interior Seaway, a large inland sea that split what is now the North American continent into two continents, and more precisely in what is now the Niobrara Formation. This is where fossils had been discovered and suggests that Pteranodon roosted near the sea and preyed on fish, but the delicate nature of their fossils could also mean that specimens were only able to survive in this limestone. Pteranodon shared its habitat with its smaller relative Nyctosaurus, toothed birds Ichthyornis and Hesperornis, plesiosaur Elasmosaurus, a large diversity of mosasaurs including Tylosaurus, and a huge array of both sharks and bony fishes.
A proven piscivore, Pteranodon is one of the few Mesozoic reptiles whose breeding strategy is known by paleontologists. Due to the smaller females being far more common than the males, even in bonebeds, it is likely Pteranodon was polygynous, with a single male mating with a large number of females, who would be the sole providers of parental care.
Behind the scenes
The design of the Pteranodon in Evolution is based on its appearance in 2001's Jurassic Park III, while its design in Evolution 2 is based on its appearance in 2015's Jurassic World. The Rainforest skin, however, is based on its brief appearance in 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
It received a Species Profile along with other Return to Jurassic Park species, on November 22, 2019.[7]
Gallery
References
- ā 1.0 1.1 Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). Jurassic World Dominion [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ā Johnston, Joe. (Director). (2001). Jurassic Park III [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ā The Rise and Fall of Masrani Global. (March 26, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ā Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). Jurassic World [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ā Bayona, J. A. (Director). (2018). Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ā Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2019). Battle at Big Rock [Short film]. Universal Pictures.
- ā Frontier Developments. (November 22, 2019). Jurassic World Evolution: Return to Jurassic Park Species Profiles [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
External links
- Pteranodon on Wikipedia
