{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T17:15:12Z","timestamp":1778174112573,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"PeerJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,2]],"date-time":"2025-01-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1735776000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Rhamphorhynchus<\/jats:italic> is one of the best-known pterosaurs, with well over 100 specimens being held in public collections. Most of these represent juvenile animals, and the adults known are typically around 1 m in wingspan. Here we describe a near complete skeleton, preserved partially in 3D, of an animal with a wingspan of around 1.8 m, that is considerably larger than other known specimens, and is among the largest known non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs. This animal shows differences in the anatomy not seen in smaller specimens, revealing details of late-stage ontogeny in this genus. The specimen exhibits a disproportionate reduction in the size of the orbit and increase in the size of the lower temporal fenestra, a reduction in the proportional mandibular symphysis, and unusually laterally flattened teeth, which may point to a changing diet as these animals grew. These features show a transition from smaller to larger specimens of <jats:italic>Rhamphorhynchus<\/jats:italic> and also appear in other large specimens of rhamphorhyhchines and point to a consistent pattern in their development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.18587","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,2]],"date-time":"2025-01-02T09:02:18Z","timestamp":1735808538000},"page":"e18587","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A giant specimen of <i>Rhamphorhynchus muensteri<\/i> and comments on the ontogeny of rhamphorhynchines"],"prefix":"10.7717","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"David W.E.","family":"Hone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Skye N.","family":"McDavid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rye, NY, United States of 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