In Depth Multiple species and the differences between male and female. Much like the pterosaurs Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus, Pteranodon has suffered from the wastebasket taxon effect. This is because at the time of its discovery it was the only known toothless pterosaur, and as such any remains that suggested a toothless pterosaur were almost automatically … Read more
In Depth Remains of Ornithocheirus indicate that it was a medium sized pterosaur however Ornithocheirus has still had its total size grossly overestimated in the popular media, with the most outlandish suggesting that it had a wingspan of twelve metres. The crests of Ornithocheirus were quite different from the majority of other pterosaurs in that … Read more
In Depth Not much is known about Unwindia except that examination of its skull suggests its placement within the Ctenochasmatoidae perhaps in a basal position. This would make Unwindia a relative to the filter feeding pterosaur Pterodaustro that is also known from the same part of the world. Further Reading Further reading- A new pterodactyloid … Read more
In Depth Five neck vertebrae may not be much to go on when describing a pterosaur, but the elongated vertebra of Phosphatodraco are a signature feature of the azdarchid group of pterosaurs. The vertebra of Phosphatodraco are also quite unique in themselves by being elongated at the base as well as higher up and also … Read more
In Depth Huaxiapterus is a genus of pterosaur,that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - New tapejarid pterosaur from western Liaoning, China. - Acta Geologica Sinica 79(4):453-458. - J. L� & C. Yuan - 2005. - A new species of Huaxiapterus (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China with … Read more
In Depth Ancient animals, especially pterosaurs are often known from only a few bones, and then often poorly preserved. The pterosaur Hamipterus however is very different. Not only is the complete animal known, but fossil remains of dozens, maybe even hundreds have been discovered. These include soft tissue impressions and eggs. This has all come … Read more
In Depth Pterodactylus has the honour of being the first pterosaur known to science, although the type of creature that it really was, was still largely unknown at the time of its discovery. Many scientists inferred that it was more like a bat, or something between a bat and a bird. Some even put forward … Read more
In Depth Yixianopterus had numerous small concical teeth in its jaws that would have allowed it to pluck fish from the water. The pterosaur Avgodectes is considered by some to be a potential synonym of Yixianopterus, although at the time of writing this is still under debate. Further Reading – New pterodactyloid pterosaur from the … Read more
In Depth Eurazhdarcho was named because of its location and its close relationship to the type genus of the azhdarchidae, Azdarcho. Unfortunately not much of Eurazhdarcho is known, and what has been preserved is in a very poor state of preservation. We don’t know yet exactly how big Eurazhdarcho was because there simply isn’t enough … Read more
In Depth The describers of Guidraco classed it within the Pteranodontoidea (the group defined by the type genus Pteranodon), however they also found that its closest known relative was Ludodactylus which is actually a member of the Ornithocheiridae (another group defined by the type genus Ornithocheirus). These two groups of pterosaurs are closely related to … Read more