Template:POTD/2022-06-10
Appearance
Sinopterus dongi was a species of pterosaur that lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago. Like all the other members of the family Tapejaridae, Sinopterus is known for its large skull, which has a prominent crest and a birdlike pointed beak, and its lack of teeth. It was also a member of the Jehol Biota, an Early Cretaceous ecosystem mainly found in Liaoning, China best known for its feathered dinosaurs that has a crucial impact on studying the relationship between dinosaurs and birds. This S. dongi fossil specimen was collected in Chaoyang, in the western part of Liaoning. Part of the collection of the Beijing Museum of Natural History, the fossil was temporarily exhibited at the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, Taiwan.Photograph credit: Y.-C. Tsai