Pterosaurs, Part I
In this series of comments, I’m gonna suggest ideas for
more plausible pterosaur species, now that I know what the aviary from Return to Jurassic Park is like.
1.
Dimorphodon: This small pterosaur is an on-screen species, particularly in Jurassic World when all the
*birds flew out of the damaged aviary and escaped to cause havoc. Aesthetically, they would match the ones seen in the movie, but there is also another design I noticed from the first in-universe website. I’ll post both of them bellow:
To the left is the model that was used on-screen for Jurassic World, with very dark green skin and bright orange wing membranes.
But, the one to the right, from the now in-universe
Isla Nublar website, has different colored membranes and is a little more paler and it has a noticeable fur coating on its main body. I don’t think the film model has any fur.
The one from the movie seems more plausible for inclusion, but I would be surprised if the website design in some way, like the Lost World colors for the Pteranodon in the aviary from the recently released DLC, makes it into the game.
Usage wise, it would be something that would be accessible in a Jurassic World themed aviary through a free update or paid DLC, and perhaps to make things more fair and balanced, it can also be another species you can access for the Jurassic Park aviary, as with the other pterosaur species listed below. After all, the latter aviary can be used in your JW era setting parks.
(What I said above is a more likely inclusion, as it’s an on-screen creature, where it plays a noticeable role in Jurassic World. The other pterosaurs below are other possible suggestions should the idea of having more species than just Pteranodon and Dimorphodon becomes a planned and decided thing, so it might or might not be a thing at all.)
2.
Rhamphorynchus (Europe): This is a fairly recognizable pterosaur as it is well known from many complete discovered remains. Similar to Dimorphodon in body shape, this pterosaur instead has a pointed beak filled with sharp teeth.
2.
Jeholopterus (Asia): A small pterosaur with a small round head and is basically like a prehistoric “bat” in regards to its size and shape. A nice idea to make pterosaurs fell more diverse.
3.
Tupandactylus / Tapejara (South America): A pterosaur with a enormous head crest.
Tapejara is a more recognizable name and, before it was realized to be a separate genus, Tupandactylus was thought to be the former pterosaur, and would be interesting if the Tupa's familiar design was used for the more recognizable named Tapejara. However, because of what this game does aim for in a specific way on the other hand, the recognizable
Tupandactylus's design would be use for that species's name instead. Of the two known described species of Tupandactylus, that can either be used for that respective genus or indeed the more familiar Tapejara, perhaps the most familiar of the two is
t.imperator as pictured below.
4.
Istiodactylus (Europe): A pterosaur that is thought to be a primary scavenger. With a basic body design with nothing fancy about its general looks, this can be a way to break away from using only fancy looking mid-sized pterosaurs.
5.
Nyctosaurus (North America): A small pterosaur with an unusually large antler-like crest.