Barbaridactylus

## BarbaridactylusBarbary Finger

* Male
* Sneaky Male
* Female

 **Main** Segments

MainSegments

***Barbaridactylus*** (Barbary Finger, named after the area it was found in, the Barbary Coast) is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur that lived in the Ouled Abdoun Basin in Morocco, North Africa, 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period.

## Paleobiology

### Size and Physique

*Barbaridactylus* is a large nyctosaurid pteranodontian, said to have a wingspan of 5.2 meters (17 feet). It is assumed that, as is theorized for other pteranodontids, the species was sexually dimorphic, with the males possessing large head crests. This is seen on the show, with the males possessing large, pronged, antler-like crests. While the skull of *Barbaridactylus* is yet to be found, Prehistoric Planet depicts it with this crest shape based on the distinct, pronged crest of its smaller relative, *Nyctosaurus*. The only difference is that this speculative crest of *Barbaridactylus* is Y-shaped much like a slingshot, with the prongs close together, as opposed to the wider L-shaped antler of *Nyctosaurus*, which has its prongs spread out in an almost 90-degree angle.

### Prehistoric Planet's Depiction

*Main: *Barbaridactylus* on Prehistoric Planet*

Main: *Barbaridactylus* on Prehistoric Planet

Prehistoric Planet depicts *Barbaridactylus* with a pycnofiber coat that is dark gray and brown, with some white and light gray areas by the face and on the underside. Some males have a very small patch of white and light gray on their backs as well, while the backs of females are almost covered with this white and light gray colors. Both sexes have a reddish-orange beak, but the small crests and the tips of the beaks are vibrant yellow in females, while the beaks and crests of males appear to be a more striking shade of red, with less emphasis on the orange shades.

*Barbaridactylus* first appears as one of the main threats to newly-hatched *Alcione* hatchlings in the second segment of Coasts. They are also the focus of the fifth segment of Deserts, involving a colony of them on a plateau, with males attempting to mate with females, either by fighting to defend their spots, or by pretending to be females themselves. *Barbaridactylus* also appears in the Prehistoric Planet: Uncovered segment "Flamboyant Flyers", which discusses the elaborate head crests of various pterosaurs, and footage of it is used in two other Uncovered segments, namely, "Could Giant Pterosaurs Really Hunt on the Ground?" and "What Else Lived Alongside The Dinosaurs?"

## Paleoecology

### Paleoenvironment

*Main: Ouled Abdoun Basin*

Main: Ouled Abdoun Basin

***“ It's especially rich here in the North Atlantic, where huge shoals of fish come close to the shore. One kind of animal thrives in such places and forms immense colonies. Flying reptiles, pterosaurs. Here, on the beaches of North Africa, there are seven different species of them. They come here to feed, to rest, and to raise their young. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Coasts*
It was once believed that pterosaurs declined in diversity towards the end of the Cretaceous. But on the shores of what would one day become the Ouled Abdoun Phosphatic Basin, west of the Atlas Mountains, seven different species of pterosaurs (among them *Barbaridactylus*, *Tethydraco*, *Phosphatodraco*, and *Alcione*) showed that, up to the end, the pterosaurs were successful and diverse, only to be abruptly rendered extinct by the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, which wiped out three-quarters of life on Earth 66 million years ago.

***“ Over millions of years, water has carved some deserts into spectacular landscapes, as here, in North Africa, these canyon lands offer some desert visitors special opportunities. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Deserts*
While present on the coast, where they can feed on fish and the occasional juvenile pterosaur, *Barbaridactylus* is also shown visiting plateaus in the desert, for they serve as a large, convenient roost out of reach of land predators.

### Flight Capabilities

***“ With a 17-foot wingspan, Barbaridactylus, a type of pterosaur, can exploit the thermals with effortless skill, and so cover great distances, despite the fact that some have enormous head crests. Every year, males and females gather at these special places in the sky, in their thousands. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Deserts*
As with all pterosaurs, *Barbaridactylus* took off from the ground by means distinct from those of birds. To fly, birds jump off with their two legs, and some even need to run in order to take off. Pterosaurs, on the other hand, relied on the "quadrupedal launch" technique, as suggested by Dr. Mark Witton and Dr. Michael Habib, two of the experts who worked on Prehistoric Planet. With their muscular forelimbs and pectoral muscles, they are able to catapult their lightweight bodies into the air and achieve lift. Due to their more energy-efficient means of taking flight, the pterosaurs weren't restricted to the same body size and form limitations as birds, allowing them to achieve massive body sizes, with their flight muscles being 50 kilograms (110 pounds), making up 20 - 25% of the total body mass of the largest azhdarchids. One common misconception is that the different atmospheric conditions of the Mesozoic Era allowed pterosaurs to stay aloft better, though Dr. Darren Naish, Prehistoric Planet's lead consultant, clarified that pterosaurs only relied on their own power to achieve lift, and would be able to fly just fine even in environments like those of the modern day.

### Hunting Tactics and Feeding Preferences

***“ Barbaridactylus. Powerful predatory pterosaurs that normally catch fish, but the hatchlings are too good to miss. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Coasts*
As a pteranodontian and a coast-dwelling creature, *Barbaridactylus* likely specialized in fishing. However, like most predators, it is an opportunistic hunter, taking the opportunity to go after the plentiful, defenseless *Alcione* hatchlings as they flew over the ocean to reach the forest. They are also shown preferring high places like canyons to safely do their various activities far from the reach of predators. The males also proved to be territorial, willing to pursue and kill off rivals if they refuse to heed their intimidation displays. And when it comes to mating, some show off and attract males with sheer domination, great, impressive displays, and brute force, while other males prefer to keep a low profile and sneak around mating with other females while pretending to also be females, and so be able to avoid getting into dangerous confrontations. Despite their territorial nature, *Barbaridactylus* is not averse to mingling with other pterosaurs, as some could be seen along with some *Alcione* in a *Tethydraco* colony on the beaches of North Africa.

## References

1. ↑ Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *The Princeton Field Guide to Pterosaurs*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 As stated in Deserts.
4. ↑ Comparative evidence for quadrupedal launch in pterosaurs
5. ↑ Did giant pterosaurs vault aloft like vampire bats?
6. ↑ Why pterosaurs weren't so scary after all
7. ↑ Pterosaurs breathed in bird-like fashion and had inflatable air sacs in their wings