page_title: Mimodactylus
section_title: Paleobiology
hierarchical_section_title: Mimodactylus / Paleobiology
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Représentation grandeur nature du fossile de mimodactylus libanensis "mimo", le premier reptile volant complet retrouvé dans tout le Moyen-Orient
context_page_description: Mimodactylus is a genus of mimodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of what is now Lebanon.
context_section_description: The habitat of Mimodactylus consisted of the islands and archipelagos situated on the wide chalk plateau extending from the north coast of the Afro-Arabische plate, in the Neotethys.
  The dentition of Mimodactylus differs from all other known pterosaurs. Its short unserrated straight conical teeth would have been useful to crack the exoskeletons of arthropods. That could indicate it was an insectivore, but insects are largely absent from the Lagerstätte layers. A lack of plant fossils proves that the location was far from land. Its elongated wings did not provide the manoeuvrability needed to catch fast flying insects. However, they would allow for a stable flight during dynamic soaring over the sea surface. The site is rich in fossils of crustaceans belonging to the Decapoda. Such shrimp-like creatures could have been scooped from the water surface by the wide beak, similar to the way some extant ducks, herons and shoebills catch prey.
caption: The standing model at the MIM
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