Sea Dart

Habitat: Ring Sea; Coasts of Mainland, Haulout, Rookery; Rock Ring

Type: Small Pterosaur

Wingspan: 3 to 4 feet

Length: 2 to 3 feet (with tail)

Weight: 3 to 5 pounds

The Sea Dart is a small, lightly-built long-tailed pterosaur that can be seen flying over the surface of the Ring Sea. It can easily be distinguished from other dart species by its deep skull and the male’s bright orange color. Like other long-tailed pterosaurs, the Sea Dart has a rigid flap of skin at the end of its tail that acts as a rudder during flight. When it's flying, it beats its wings rapidly, rarely gliding for more than a few seconds.

The dart hunts small fish at the surface of the water. Remarkably, its prey can reach up to 10 inches in length — longer than its head. Flying low over the surface, the dart uses its sharp eyesight to spot its prey and then snaps its head down to seize the fish with its jaws. The venom in its bite works quickly, and the small fish are immediately paralyzed. This allows the Sea Dart to swallow the fish whole without fear of internal damage from wriggling prey.

The Sea Dart can use any elevated area as a roost, including trees, rocks, hills, or cliffs. However, when it is time to nest and lay eggs, it migrates over to the seaside cliffs of Rookery, Haulout, and the Rock Ring. This can happen at any time of year, and these cliffs are always filled with mated pairs raising their young. During this time, the dull-colored female stays in the nest and is fed by her mate. 

Even though it can fly long distances over the Ring Sea, the Sea Dart is absent from Midway and Long Island. This is due to its main predator, the Blue Falcon. This large blue and white bird of prey nests in the cliffs and mountains of those two islands, overlooking the sea. Leaving their nests each day, they pursue Sea Darts just above the water’s surface and prey on those they catch. The prevalence of this bird seems to keep the Sea Dart away from the shores of Midway and Long Island.

• Naturalist Note: From the description Daniel provides here, the Sea Dart likely represents a rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur similar to Dimorphodon (if not Dimorphodon itself). We can determine this by the long, ruddered tail and the deep, relatively heavy head. 

The presence of a venomous bite is a surprise for scientists, and it seems that all four of the Floating Isle rhamphorhynchoids (named “darts” by Daniel) have this same feature. The name Dimorphodon means “two-form tooth”, and it is the longer teeth that are grooved and deliver the paralyzing venom.