In Depth Tethydraco is a genus of pteranodontid pterosaur known to have lived in North Africa during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. - PLoS Biology 16(3):e2001663:1-38. - N. R. Longrich, D. M. Martill & B. Andres - 2018.
In Depth Bogolubovia did not come into existence until seventy-five years after the holotype was discovered in 1914 by Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov. Initially the remains were attributed to Ornithostoma as O. orientalis, and later reclassified as a species of Pteranodon. Now the original description can be compared with greater understanding of pterosaurs in general, Bogolubovia … Read more
In Depth Simurghia is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Africa during the late Cretaceous. The holotype fossils of Simurghia were found in what was a marine environment, strongly showing that Simurghia lived in coastal ecosystems. Further Reading - Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. … Read more
In Depth Forfexopterus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new archaeopterodactyloid pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China, with a comparison of sterna in Pterodactylomorpha. - Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology. - S. Jiang, X. Cheng, Y. Ma & X. Wang - 2016.
In Depth Ningchengopterus was a very special find as it appears to be a very young juvenile specimen. The structure of the wings suggest that Ningchengopterus was flight capable even at this young age, which in turn helps to reinforce the theory that pterosaurs could fly not long after hatching, and were possibly independent from … Read more
In Depth If the name Targaryendraco sounds like something out of the television series Game of Thrones (or the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series), then you are actually right. The name of this pterosaur actually means ‘Targaryen dragon’, a reference to the house of Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game … Read more
In Depth Keresdrakon is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Brazil during the Cretaceous. The holotype individual of Keresdrakon was discovered in a bone bed with other pterosaur remains. These remains include the genus Caiuajara, proving that these two pterosaurs were active within the same ecosystem at the same time. Further Reading - A … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately very little fossil material for this pterosaur exists, but the post cranial remains of Hatzegopteryx do bare striking similarities to Quetzalcoatlus, even to point that some consider Hatzegopteryx to be a possible synonym of Quetzalcoatlus. There still is one subtle area of known difference, and this is the way that the jaws … Read more
In Depth When Alexander Kellner found what was thought to be a Pteranodon, he realised that morphological differences in the specimen meant that it was not a match. Kellner then compared it to the next closest pterosaur and in the process made the exciting discovery that it was not an individual of this genus either … Read more
In Depth The name Elanodactylus ‘kite finger’ is actually in reference to a type of bird of prey called a kite, the specific genus in relation to the name being Elanus. This is because like a kite, Elanodactylus had especially long wings that would have made it stand out from other pterosaurs. Although Elanodactylus has … Read more