Comparison of Screamer and Rhamphorynchur: rear view cutaway (3D recon)

A 3D reconstruction of the modern Screamer Chauna chavaria, a cousin to ducks and geese, compared to Rhamphorhynchus, a Jurassic pterosaur. The back of the skull is cutaway to show details of the endocranial cavity, which houses the brain. Pterosaurs show structural convergences with modern birds in that both fly and both have a large brain. The skull of Rhamphorhynchus shows a large cerebrum and cerebellum - for good sensory-muscular integration. Birds also have a large cerebrum and cerebellum, but in a very different configuration than that shown in Rhamphorhynchus. Screamer is approximately 9 cm long; Rhamphorhynchus is approximately 9.6 cm long. (Screamer courtesy of Mr. Dave Dufeau, University of Texas at Austin, Rhamphorhynchus courtesy of Dr. Sankar Chatterjee, Texas Tech University)

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