Look: With a mouth full of teeth, this Pterosaur ate like a whale

Chomp chomp Filter-feeding isn’t a new invention. by Jennifer Walter Updated: Feb. 20, 2024 Originally Published: Jan. 24, 2023 Megan Jacobs

Sergey Krasovskiy/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images Pterosaurs are well known for their colossal wingspans and decorative head crests.

But rarely do they boast impressive mouthfuls of pearly whites. A newly-discovered pterosaur species had at least 480 teeth in its long, spatula-shaped beak. Megan Jacobs

Writing last week in the journal Paläontologische Zeitschrift, researchers detail the discovery of its nearly complete skeleton from a quarry in Germany.

Called Balaenognathus maeuseri, the species’ generic (first) name means “bowhead whale jaw” in Latin.

kampee patisena/Moment/Getty Images It was discovered by accident. Researchers were digging for crocodile bones when they stumbled upon the pterosaur.

Its remains were tucked inside a limestone slab and date back to the Late Jurassic period.

Martill et. al/PalZ The pterosaur’s teeth were long and skinny, which helped it feed like bowheads and other species of baleen whales.

Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images/Moment/Getty Images Baleen whales do not have teeth, but rather rows of fine bristles made of keratin. They feed by filtering out mouthfuls of water to trap prey — which would have been a similar technique to Balaenognathus.

Some ducks are also filter-feeders, holding onto prey with teeth-like structures called lamellae.

Ashley Cooper/Corbis/Getty Images

The opening at the end of Balaenognathus’ beak would have allowed it to suck up water and expel it out the sides.

“...some of the teeth have a hook on the end, which we’ve never seen before in a pterosaur ever.

Martill et. al/PalZ -David Martill, primary study author, in a press release.

Only one other pterosaur species is known to have more teeth than Balaenognathus. Pterodaustro, which lived in modern-day Argentina, boasted a mouthful of 1,000 chompers. DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY/De Agostini/Getty Images

Megan Jacobs But Balaenognathus’ skinny, hooked teeth are unique to its species — and showcase a feeding style that still exists in many animals today.