Night FisherWoman
Summary: Continuing in the Solnhofen limestone, Once the sunset, a nightlife world emerges as a Female Rhamporhynchus starts tonight to hunt for fish, but it is full of dangers both from the air and in the waters, will she make it and ever see the light of another day again or will the Tethys Sea claim another victim?
Cast: Rhamphorhynchus (Focus), Archaeopteryx (Cameo) and siemensii, Pterodactylus (Cameo), Compsognathus, Aurorazhdarcho, Ctenochasma, Cycnorhamphus, Scaphognathus, Mesurupetala, Mesolimulus, Germanodactylus, Ardeadactylus, Anurognathus, Piranhamesodon, Aspidorhynchus, Leptolepides, Eryon, Aegirosaurus, Pleurosaurus, Dakosaurus, Dollocaris, Clausocaris, Belemnotheutis, Plesioteuthis, Saccocoma tenella, Aeger tipularis, Rhizostomites, Eomesodon, Gyrodus hexagonus, Macromesodon macropterus, Mesturus, Ardeosaurus brevipes, Homoeosaurus, Idiochelys, Platychelys, Coccolepis, Lepidotes maximus, Asteracanthus, Paracestracion, Macrosemius, Notagogus, Histionotus, Proscinetes, Asthenocormus, Hypsocormus, Orthocormus, Sauropsis, Amiopsis, Caturus, Belonostomus, and Eurycormus.
We see Thomas at the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles behind the Pteranodon fossil display as he begins to speak more about pterosaurs. "Pterosaurs came in sorts of sizes and ecological roles, small ones like Pterodactylus feed on small animals and insects, giant Pterosaurs feed on animals and scavenge dead carcasses like marabou storks, some climb trees and feed on fruit, others strain the water filter feeding for micro-organisms, and most of them catch fish out in the ocean. The earliest pterosaurs were small, had teeth, and had long tails as they evolved those physician traits of a long tail and teeth vanished, leaving only short tails and a toothless beak." Thomas brings out a cast model of the small pterosaur. "Among those long-tailed toothed pterosaurs was Rhamphorhynchus, the pterosaur equivalent of a seabird like the gulls you see on beaches. Although small, The largest known specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri measured 1.26 meters (4.1 ft) long with a wingspan of 1.81 meters (5.9 ft). A very large, fragmentary rhamphorhynchoid specimen from Ettling in Germany may also belong to the genus, in which case Rhamphorhynchus would be the largest known non-pterodactyloid pterosaur and one of the largest pterosaurs known from the Jurassic. This specimen represents an individual around 180% the size of the next largest specimen of the genus, with an estimated wingspan of over 3 meters. Their needle-sharp teeth help them to catch fish as they dive into the water to snatch them and based on analysis of their sclera eyes, they were mostly nocturnal, but fishing at night has its dangers just as it is during the day. so how did Rhamphorhynchus do it to become a Night Fisherman?"
. . . . .
It was a calm peaceful evening over the island archipelago, the sun was setting over the warm tropical waters as for most creatures it is time to sleep. The male Pterodactylus rests on a tall rock warming him up after being in the sun's rays and the rock's dark coloration absorbs the sunlight's heat rays which cool off in the evening. A Germanodactylus does the same on a flat plateau-shaped rock. The Archaeopteryx pair have finished their nest and the female Archaeopteryx is now sleeping on their new clutch of eggs. Despite their dark coloration, they are mostly diurnal and active during the day. On the forest floor flocks of Compsognathus come together to form a nuptial communal sleeping pile sleeping together provides heat exchange and there is a sentry to look out for danger. The Mesurupetala Dragonflies hide among the reeds of the pond to hide from predators. They get slower and move less as the light fades and eventually perch motionless in the shelter of plants within their territories until the sun rises again.
While underwater some of the turtles like Idiochelys sleep underwater. They prefer to burrow themselves under mud and sand and can easily sleep underwater for 5 hours at a time. Similar to sea turtles, freshwater turtles are able to conserve a lot of their oxygen when sleeping underwater since they do not have much movement. But some like Platychelys are nocturnal and spend most of the time underwater, lying on the bottom of the waterbody. Their dark-colored skin and moss-covered shell enables the turtles to lie in wait and ambush their prey. Swimming above the turtles are these bowfin fish known as Caturus and Amiopsis, typically in slow-moving backwaters, canals, and ox-bow lakes. When the oxygen level is low (as often happens in still waters), the bowfin can rise to the surface and gulp air into its swim bladder, which is lined with blood vessels and can serve as a primitive lung. They are stalking, ambush predators known to move into the shallows at night to prey on fish and aquatic invertebrates such as crawfish, mollusks, and aquatic insects. An amiopsis swims around the sediment bottom, but gets snatched by a Platycelys, unfortunately some predators are prey to others.
Soon Night time insects emerged from hiding like moths, but then suddenly flying silhouettes figures came swooping in to snatch the moths. These are Anurognathus, these small pterosaurs have taken the nocturnal role as night hunters like nightjars, frogmouths, and bats. The hairs forming protruding rictal bristles on their snouts which help prevent insects from entering the eyes on collision with the its long wings, a swift flier, surprising its prey although it was a slower flying predator, specialized in hunting by maneuverability. In the branches of the trees are these lizards called Ardeosaurus, a type of stem-gekkotan. It was around 20 centimeters (7.9 in) long, with a flattened head and large eyes. Since they have no eyelids, they use their tongues to lick their eyes as a way to keep the skin of the eyes moist. It was probably nocturnal, and had jaws specialized for feeding on insects and spiders. Another reptilian creature prowling the forest floor is Homoeosaurus, a sphenodont reptile, related to the modern tuatara, though it was a considerably more gracile. As nocturnal hunters, they predominantly prey on beetles, crickets, spiders, earthworms, snails, frogs, lizards, and even the eggs and chicks of pterosaurs and dinosaurs.
At the rocky cliffs, hundreds of Scaphognathus are gathering to roost on the cliff rocks as they bed down for the night. But as one shift end another begins, coming out of a small hole cave on the edge of the cliff is a female Rhamphorhynchus with its rudder-tipped tail, short beak, and needle-like teeth, Rhamphorhynchus is one of the most familiar pterosaurs, second only to the crested Pteranodon in the public eye. They are also relatives of Scaphognathus as they are a part of their own pterosaur family, the Rhamphorhynchidae. They don't compete over the same food through niche partitioning while Scaphogathus hunts in the day, Rhamphorhynchus is a Night Fisherman. Based on the eye rings, it could contain many light receptor rods that are sensitive to low light conditions at night. She soon takes off into the air to join the rest of her kind as their night shift has just begun.
In the shallow lagoons and beaches, other pterosaurs are also active at night, flocks of Aurorazhdarcho, Ctenochasma, Ardeadactylus, and Cycnorhamphus have gathered to feast on the bounty delivered by the Tethys Sea. The Aurorazhdarcho and Ctenochasma pterosaurs wade in the shallows with their beaks in the water to snap up fish with their thin needle teeth to grab them. The Aurorazhdarchos search for juicy succulent crustaceans and shellfish like mussels and snails on the rocks, this one snatched itself an Eryon, a crab-like crustacean that burrowed itself into the sand, It reached a length of around 10 cm (3.9 in), and may have fed on the particulate matter on the sea bed. The Ardeadactylus with its long heron-like neck slowly stands still as it patiently searches and stalks its prey, it has larger teeth than Pterodactylus which allows it to catch larger fish.
Underwater, hundreds of Mesolimulus, a type of horseshoe crab. They are busy forging in the sand sediment of the ocean floor. This is based on the moon and tidal cycles, these horseshoe crabs are more active at night, specifically during full or new moons. They are joined by other crustaceans like the Eyrons and Aeger, a type of pawn. Prawns are "opportunistic omnivores", and their diet can include a range of food items from fine particles to large organisms. These may include fish, chaetognaths, krill, copepods, radiolarians, phytoplankton, nematocysts, ostracods and detritus. Prawns are an attractive food for predators, with a higher energy content than most other invertebrates. But these crustaceans stand out from the rest, they are strange bizarre floating crustaceans known as thylacocephalans.
They are a group of extinct probable mandibulate arthropods that have been considered by some researchers as having possible crustacean affinities. They typically possess a large, laterally flattened carapace that encompasses the entire body. The compound eyes tend to be large and bulbous, and occupy a frontal notch on the carapace. They possess three pairs of large raptorial limbs, and the abdomen bears a battery of small swimming limbs. These are Dollocaris measuring over 30 cm (12 in) in length. It sported a row of small appendages to assist in swimming, as well as three pairs of clawed segmented legs,but it was probably a poor swimmer, instead depending on ambush to hunt prey. It is known for its well-preserved, large compound eyes, sporting well-preserved individual retinula cells, which assisted in catching prey. Another species is Clausocaris, Fossils have shown they have a carapace covering the bulk of its body, with compound eyes, possible gills, and also "raptorial appendages" controlled by "substantial striated muscles".
Despite having a shelled armor they are prey to other predators as an Aeger prawn was grabbed by a large fish joined by several others shifting through the sand and snatching the float crustaceans. These are Lepidotes inhabiting both freshwater lakes and shallow seas, Lepidotes were typically about 30 centimeters (12 in) long. The body was covered with thick, enameled scales. Lepidotes was one of the earliest fish in which the upper jawbones were no longer attached to the jugal bone. This allowed the jaws to be stretched into a 'tube' so that the fish could suck in prey from a greater distance than in previous species. This system is still seen in some modern fish, such as carp. epidotes scales are ovular in shape, and are 18.5 millimeters (0.73 in) long and 3 millimeters (0.12 in) thick at the thickest point. The scales are smooth and shiny on the external surface, with only a few small depressions scattered toward the center that are shaped like punctures. Stomach contents of Lepidotes from the Early Jurassic of Germany have found remains of crustacean cuticles, and it is suggested that they fed on relatively soft-bodied prey, which was grasped with the slender marginal teeth, before being crushed by the palatal teeth.
They are joined by other ocean predators like sharks like the small hybodont shark, Asteracanthus. Asteracanthus was among the largest known hybodontiformes, reaching a length of 2–3 meters (6.6–9.8 ft). They are highly adapted to open ocean conditions and search for prey in the benthic sand floor. Another shark is Paracestracion, a bullhead shark. They are nocturnal bottom feeders with two high dorsal fins with large spines to project themselves from predators and prey mainly on hard-shelled molluscs, echinoderms, and crustaceans, which they crush between powerful jaws and molar-like teeth, while also feeding opportunistically on a wide variety of other invertebrates and small bony fishes.
A semi-aquatic reptilian predator appears in search of fish, this is a Pleurosaurus is one of the few known aquatic sphenodontians. Its body was approximately 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) long, and elongated for hydrodynamic streamlining, with comparatively short limbs and a powerful tail. The body was heavily modified from those of other rhynchocephalians, including an elongated triangular skull. It swam via the use of poorly efficient axial undulatory anguilliform locomotion (the movement of the body side to side) in shallow marine environments, and was probably piscivorous. It had only small limbs, which probably did not aid in swimming, and nostrils placed far back on the head, close to the eyes.
Some creatures aren't what they seem, these feather-like flower-like organisms aren't aquatic plants, They are Saccocomas, a type of crinoid. Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea that appeared in the Middle Ordovician and onwards into the present. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are members of the largest crinoid order, Comatulida. They live in both shallow water and in depths as great as 9,000 meters (30,000 ft). Crinoids are passive suspension feeders, filtering plankton and small particles of detritus from the sea water flowing past them with their feather-like arms. The arms are raised to form a fan-shape which is held perpendicular to the current. Mobile crinoids move to perch on rocks, coral heads or other eminences to maximize their feeding opportunities. The food particles are caught by the primary (longest) tube feet, which are fully extended and held erect from the pinnules, forming a food-trapping mesh, while the secondary and tertiary tube feet are involved in manipulating anything encountered.
Another familiar ocean animal are the jellyfish like these Rhizostomites. Jellyfish have been around for more than 500 million years dating back to the Cambrian Period. Jellyfish are like other cnidarians generally carnivorous feeding on planktonic organisms, crustaceans, small fish, fish eggs and larvae, and other jellyfish, ingesting food and voiding undigested waste through the mouth. They hunt passively using their tentacles as drift lines, or sink through the water with their tentacles spread widely; the tentacles, which contain nematocysts to stun or kill the prey, may then flex to help bring it to the mouth. Their swimming technique also helps them to capture prey; when their bell expands it sucks in water which brings more potential prey within reach of the tentacles
The Rhamporhcynus flies over the coral reefs which provide home to many aquatic organisms that sleep among the sea sponges, branching corals, and rock crevices to hide from predators. Some of these fishes are Ray-finned fishes like Eurycormus and othersare Pycnodont fishes which have jaws with round and flattened teeth well adapted to crush hard-shell organisms like echinoderms, crustaceans and molluscs. These include Proscinetes, Eomesodons, Gyrodus, Macromesodon, and Mesturus. One of the strangest was the needlefish like Belonostomus. It was wildly successful, the oldest species of this genus are from the Jurassic, about 150 million years old, and the youngest to date are all the way past the end of the Cretaceous, into the earliest part of the Paleocene, 59 million years ago! Belonostomus on average tend to hover between a foot to almost two feet long from snout to tail, depending on the individual and species. When alive, Belonostomus would have been a meat-eater, probably using its long, thin snout, lined with small, pointed teeth to shred smaller fish and other aquatic prey. Its long, streamlined body, which was a characteristic of a fast-swimmer, also probably aided it in hunting.
Soon the flock spotted schools of fishes known as Leptolepides along with other fishes like Coccolepis, Macrosemius, Notagogus, Histionotus, Asthenocormus, Orthocormus, and Sauropsis. These fishes have gathered to feed on the plankton through a process known as suspension feeding, they feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure through their gills. This is what the Pterosaurs are here, it's the small fishes that they are after/ They soon plunged into the water as they dived, and snatched the small fish with their needle-shaped teeth before returning to the surface. In today's ecosystems, birds such as penguins, cormorants, auks, or diving petrels have adapted numerous times for aquatic life and Many fossils of Rhamphorynchus were found in marine deposits. Soon more predators arrived in the feeding frenzy, the Hypsocormus was a fast-swimming predatory fish about 1 meter (3.3 ft) long, with a half moon-shaped caudal fin similar to that of a modern mackerel. It had a single dorsal fin, elongated pectoral fins and tiny pelvic fins about halfway down the body. An early teleost, Hypsocormus was still primitive, possessing primitive traits such as armored scales. These were, however, small compared with those of earlier fish, allowing greater flexibility. Its jaws were muscular and highly developed, giving it a powerful bite.
Soon more aquatic hunters have arrived, Aspidorhynchus, They are slender, fast-swimming fish, measuring 60 centimeters (2.0 ft) long, with tooth-lined, elongated jaws with heavy scales and a symmetrical tail. The upper jaw was longer than the lower jaw, ending in a toothless spike that looked similar to gars. There are even instances of Rhamphoryncus preserved together with these large, gar-like fish trying to eat them. It starts off when the Rhamphorhynchus individual had just caught a Leptolepides while it was flying low over a body of water. As the Leptolepides was traveling down its pharynx, a large Aspidorhynchus would have attacked from below the water, puncturing the left-wing membrane of the Rhamphorhynchus with its sharp rostrum. The teeth in its snout were ensnared in the fibrous tissue of the wing membrane, and as the fish thrashed to release itself the left wing of the Rhamphorhynchus was pulled back into the distorted position. The encounter resulted in the death of both individuals, most likely because the two animals sank into an anoxic layer in the water body, depriving the fish of oxygen. While some of the fishes managed to grab some pterosaurs, the Female Rhamphorhynchus after snatching a fish swims to the surface and takes off while avoiding a Aspidorhynchus while others weren't so lucky, some of the Rhamphorhynchus stunned by the impact by the fish although the fish's jaws are unsuited to prey on pterosaurs like them often drown left for the scavengers or float down to the ocean floor in which they will be fossilized.
Also hunting are a pod of Aegirosaurus, ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs, they have large big eyes to help them hunt in great dark depths or even hunt at night for squid and ammonites and when they need to sleep they have very low metabolic rates to keep from drowning. They are feeding on prehistoric squids called Belemnotheutis and Plesioteuthis. Belemnotheutis is characterized by an internal shell consisting of a conical phragmocone covered apically by a thin rostrum, or guard, homologous to the bullet-shaped rostrum of true belemnites, a short forward projecting proostracum, and ten hook bearing arms of equal length to help grapes fish. In true belemnites, the large dense rostra acted as a counterbalance, keeping the animal horizontally oriented when swimming.
Plesioteuthis on the other hand were very similar to the current cuttlefish, but they had a thinner stream-lined body of considerable size. The only "cuttlefish bone" or gladius could reach a length of about 30 cm (12 in). They were fast-moving nektonic carnivores living in lagoons, in shallow subtidal water and reefs. In fossils usually the gladius is crushed or flattened, so as to hide the small stabilizers present towards the back. Traces of the tentacles are often preserved. Next to them sometimes there are traces of the beak and mouth. However, the structure of the beak of Plesioteuthis resembles that of the Decapodiformes squids. Some phosphatization of the soft parts preserve the strong striations on the gladius, on the back of the animal. In the middle of the body there was an organ similar to a button, often preserved in a darker color than the rest of the fossil known as the ink-sack.
The ichthyosaurus swam after the squids catching them with their long snout with sharp teeth. For squids that get away like most cephalopods they squirt ink as defense to get away from their pruserer. There are even Fossilized ink sacs of Belemnotheutis that were first discovered in belemnites in 1826 by Mary Anning a famous British fossil collector and paleontologist, who along with her brother Joseph and a friend and fellow fossil collector Elizabeth Philpot succeeded in recovering the ink, used to illustrate ichthyosaur and pterosaur fossils. The ink recovered from such fossils were also used to draw fossil ichthyosaurs by Henry De la Beche, a friend and supporter of Mary Anning. The Rhamporchycnhus also catch these squids too and they cooperate with the ichthyosaurus in bringing closer to the surface for them to reach when they dive although they must be careful as they can be prey too, a young Aegirosaurus tries to snatch a Rhamporchycnhus by its tail as it surfaces, but misses.
But patrolling the water is the Dakosaurus, a marine crocodylomorph within the family Metriorhynchidae. It would have been large, measuring approximately 4–5 m (13–16 ft) long and weighing 200–275 kg (441–606 lb). Its body was streamlined for greater hydrodynamic efficiency, which along with its finned tail made it a more efficient swimmer than modern crocodilian species. Some skull specimens contain a chamber in which house well-developed salt glands that secrete a very concentrated salt solution. This allows them to get rid of extra salt, when they need to, without losing too much water in the process. They are active hunting at night, the darkness of the water with its countershaded body helps it blend in. Dakosaurus is the only marine crocodyliform to have evolved teeth that are both lateromedially compressed and serrated; not only that, but they were much larger than those of metriorhynchid genera. These characteristics, along with their morphology, which fall within the and are analogous to modern killer whale teeth - indicate that Dakosaurus was the apex predator.
The Dakosaurus swims towards the dark depths below the ichthyosaurs before propelling with its caudal fin swimming fast towards the ichthyosaur like a missile before grabbing one individual from below. The enlarged supratemporal fenestrae of Dakosaurus skulls would have anchored large adductor muscles (jaw closing), ensuring a powerful bite. As their skulls are triangular in shape, with deeply rooted large, serrated teeth and a bulbous, deep mandibular symphysis (like pliosaurs), dakosaurs would also have been able to twist feed (tear chunks of flesh off potential prey). The ichthyosaurs swam off as the Dakosaurus feasted on its prey.
A shoal of Piranhamesodon has come to feast on the dead bodies, They have sharp, serrated teeth highly reminiscent of a piranha, designed to rip chunks of flesh. They are normally scavengers and sometimes go after small weak and injured prey. It is a highly unusual trait as most other species in the order Pycnodontiformes were shellfish eaters with flat, crushing teeth and it is the oldest known bony fish with this trait.
This continues on into the night until dawn's breaks over the land and the sun begins to rise. The ichthyosaurs and large fishes have swam off with full bellies and as for the Rhamphorhynchus. It's time to sleep back home to shore. Soon the nocturnal animals living in the waters and on land of the islands have all sought shelter and a place to sleep as the diurnal animals begin to rise and wake up. Upon arrival, the female Rhamphorhynchus came to land on a cliff face to rest However its resting spot was not well covered enough. A silhouette shadow appears above the pterosaur and attacks her.
This was an Archaeopteryx siemensii much more dark brown than the type species. Despite being 50 centimeters long it was the top apex air predator on this island . While often called the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx is not a bird in a narrow sense since it is not in the class Aves, and in a wide sense being an avialan. There are older species known like Xiaotingia. In fact Archaeopteryx has more in common with dromaeosaurs like Velociraptor than modern birds, having a bony tail, claws on the wings, sharp teeth and even a retractable killing claw on each foot. The Rhamphorhynchus tried to shake her opponent off and they both fell off the cliff face and tumbled down to a cliff edge. With her opponent off her back she takes off quickly, although the Archaeopteryx catches up to her as it is capable of short bursts of flight. It becomes an aerial dogfight between dinosaur bird and pterosaur. Then continues for several hours, but the Archaeopteryx is getting closer to her until a Aegirosaurus surfaces leaping into the air trying to snatch the pterosaur, but knocks off the Archaeopteryx. The ichthyosaurus this time drags the avian dinosaur to the depths instead.
The Rhamphorhynchus had made its lucky escape this time while others of her kind are not so lucky, often victims of Archaeopteryx with their brains eaten and sometimes victims of the sea. The Tethys Sea can give life to its inhabitants, but can also take life away from them, fortunately the female Rhamphorhynchus will live to fly another day. She finally flies to her cliff crevice hole on the ledge of the cliff. She goes inside the hole and tucks herself to sleep. She had a long night and as she sleeps during the day until nightfall comes again for the Night Fisherwoman.
Trivia/References
-The male Pterodactylus and female Archaeopteryx make cameos in this story in the aftermath after the last story in which they laid their eggs.
All Your Yesterdays
-The Diving Rhamphorhynchus is based on an artwork by Michael Hanson titled "A Diving Rhamphorhynchus", and based on the current research that piscivorous pterosaurs dived for their food not skim feed.
Olmagon
-The Piranhamesodon scavenging on the dead bodies is based on a their teeth dentition and "Saltwater-Scavengers"
-The Rhamphorhynchus snatching a Leptolepides while avoiding the Aspidorhynchus is based on fossil evidence and "Primeval Drama"
-The Aegirosaurus trying to snatch a Rhamphorhynchus is based on "Etches` Ocean".
-Like in the previous story, "The First Flight," An Archaeopteryx of the siemensii species is trying to catch a Rhamphorhynchus to eat its brain, but unsuccessful is based on "Day-18-30-day-dinosaur-challenge."
SpeculativeBehaviors/Fossil Evidence:
-The lifestyle of the majority of the animals from the fishes, aquatic invertebrates, and land reptiles are based on their adaptations based on their fossils and modern day relatives.
-The large fishes, ichthyosaurs, and pterosaurs working together is inspired by marine animals like dolphins, tuna, and seabirds like gannets catch their food like bait balls.
-The Dakosaurus hunting was inspired by Great White Sharks.
For all you Readers out there please Review my stories!
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The Next Story is "Night Mammals" we will explore the nocturnal world of the mammals that live in the shadows and under the feet of the dinosaurs mostly focusing on the predatory Triconodon who is on the prowl for young dinosaur prey.
This is WildExpert24 signing off.