In Depth The teeth of Haopterus are quite robust. As well as extending for the first two thirds of the jaws they also point towards the back of the mouth. These teeth are well adapted for catching and holding onto fish, which seem to be the preferred diet of pterosaurs that belong to the Ornithocheiridae. … Read more
In Depth To realise the full meaning of the name Ludodactylus (toy finger), you may have to revisit your childhood. Whereas Pteranodon is by far the most easily recognised pterosaur by the general public, toys of it often have the presence of teeth in its jaws in order to make it look more ferocious. This … 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 Eosipterus has enjoyed a variable position amongst the pterosaurs first being thought to be similar to Pterodactylus, then thought to have been a member of the filter feeding ctenochasmid pterosaurs, perhaps like Gnathosaurus, to ultimately being declared to be similar to Germanodactylus. The overall physiology of Eosipterus is quite robust, especially the wings. … Read more
In Depth Although many pterosaurs sported elaborate head crests, Nyctosaurus took things to a new extreme. Rising up to over half a meter high, a proportionately massive ‘L’ shaped crest is known to have been present on Nyctosaurus. This crest was once thought to have been the support for a skin sail, but today it … Read more
In Depth Eopteranodon gets its name from how its jaws and crest look like those on the more famous pterosaur Pteranodon that existed later in the Cretaceous of North America. Eopteranodon however was not only much smaller than Pteranodon but it is actually of a different pterosaur family. Further Reading Further reading- New pterodactyloid pterosaur … Read more
In Depth Noripterus appears to have been a scaled down version of the pterosaur Dsungaripterus complete with a more gracile build. However the discovery of a leg bone that was attributed to the new genus Phobetor in 1982 now casts doubts upon this. When studied again, along with further material attributed to Phobetor in 2009, … Read more
In Depth Analysis of the Lacusovagus fossils indicates that it is a member of the Chaoyangopteridae family of pterosaurs. This is significant as it up until the discovery of Lacusovagus, the members of this group were known only from Asia. Further Reading – A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Aptian?) of … Read more
In Depth The discovery of Pterodaustro was a fantastic find, as not only was it the first pterosaur to be discovered in South America, here was a pterosaur that filtered for food in a similar manner to a modern day flamingo. This is evidenced by the strongly upwards curing beak that instead of having more … Read more
In Depth The holotype specimen of Cearadactylus was not dug out of the ground by a dedicated research team, but was instead purchased from fossil dealers in Italy in 1983. Unfortunately these fossil dealers made several mistakes in rebuilding the fossil, including mistaking the front of the lower jaw for the snout and setting it … Read more