Rhamphorhynchus
Look at its long tail, the little sail at its tip and its outstretched wings made from skin membranes.
Preparing the Rhamphorhynchus exhibit.

Look at its long tail, the little sail at its tip and its outstretched wings made from skin membranes.

Preparing the Rhamphorhynchus exhibit.
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This is Rhamphorhynchus, a flying reptile from the Late Jurassic. It was not a dinosaur. Look at its long tail, the little sail at its tip and its outstretched wings made from skin membranes.
Classification used here: Long-tailed pterosaur (flying reptile). Fossils assigned to Rhamphorhynchus are known from Late Jurassic (about 150 million years ago) and have been found in southern Germany, Europe. The museum uses 1–1.8 m (about 3–6 ft) as the reference wingspan and describes the diet as meat-eater. Rhamphorhynchus was a pterosaur, a flying reptile rather than a dinosaur or a bird. Late Jurassic fossils from southern Germany preserve wing membranes and soft tissue from the sail at the end of the tail. Fish remains in the stomach show that small fish were among its foods. A cephalopod fossil marked by a Rhamphorhynchus tooth may record an unsuccessful attack. The shape of the tail sail changed as the animal grew, while its colours, complete wing outline and exact flight movements remain careful artistic reconstructions.
Leon Made This compiled these research notes from public museum resources and scientific papers while preserving uncertainty in the reconstruction. Last reviewed 2026-08-07.
The code is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Original science writing and project artwork use CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for non-commercial sharing. The brand policy prevents impersonation, and third-party assets keep their original licences.
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Prehistoric Animal Museum is made and maintained by Leon Made This. Use these addresses to verify the official project and its creator.
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Leon Made This
I’m Leon, a developer and a dad. When my daughter was three, dinosaur chases on television frightened her, so I made a 3D prehistoric animal museum where she could look quietly and listen only when she wanted to.
The museum is free, with no sign-up, adverts or visitor tracking. Finding one interesting detail at a time is plenty.
Official source
Prehistoric Animal Museum is made and maintained by Leon Made This. Use these addresses to verify the official project and its creator.