In Depth The only known example of the pterosaur Feilongus is incomplete and has been damaged in the fossilisation process. Only the skull, mandible and parts of the braincase are preserved. What can be gleamed from the fossil is that Feilongus had a large overbite with the upper jaw extended up to 2.7 centimetres beyond … Read more
In Depth Though Moganopterus probably does not have the largest skull of any pterosaur, it does have the largest skull of any toothed pterosaur. This size is down to the jaws being very elongated, possibly for additional reach. There were at least sixty-two teeth in the skull, though possibly more. On the back of the … Read more
In Depth Leptostomia is a genus of pterosaur that lived in North Africa during the Cretaceous, possibly at the boundary of the early and late periods of the Cretaceous. Leptostomia is thought to have been a small pterosaur, possibly possessing a very slim elongated beak. This might have been a feeding adaptation for probing into … Read more
In Depth Described in 2012, Europejara has gone down as the first tapejarid pterosaur known from Europe. At the time of writing the only known fossils of this pterosaur are a partial skull and lower jaw. The preserved portion of the skull is two hundred and thirty millimetres long, though in life the skull is … Read more
In Depth Longchengpterus has been suggested to be a junior synonym to the pterosaur Nurhachius. As such, the future of Longchengpterus as an independent genus is uncertain. Further Reading – A new iodactylid pterosaur from western Liaoning. – Geological Bulletin of China 25(6):737-740. – L. Wang, L. Li, Y. Duan & S.-L. Cheng – 2006.
In Depth Unfortunately not only are pterosaur fossils rare in Australia they are usually very fragmentary; such is the case for Aussiedraco. The type specimen had been known for over thirty years before it was granted the name Aussiedraco and represents the front piece of the lower jaw. The jaw itself was thin like you … Read more
In Depth Like in other ornithocherid pterosaurs the sharp teeth of Boreopterus project out to the sides with the largest near the tip of the snout, most notably the third and fourth pairs from the tip of the snout. When the teeth near the tips of the jaws meshed together they made for an effective … Read more
In Depth Although currently known from only a lower jaw Aetodactylus is believed to represent an ornithocheirid pterosaur, and as such it is only the second of its type to have been discovered in North America. The pointed teeth of Aetodactylus are pointed and evenly arranged into pairs, the first of which project forwards. This … Read more