Darwinopterus

darwinopterus

In Depth        Darwinopterus was a truly ground breaking discovery as it displays features of both the basal rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs,‭ ‬and the later more advanced pterodactyloid pterosaurs.‭ ‬Before the discovery of Darwinopterus,‭ ‬there was a marked gap between these two groups,‭ ‬but now that the transitional form of Darwinopterus has been found it is considered to … Read more

Dawndraco

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

Puntanipterus

In Depth        The future for Puntanipterus is uncertain and the reason for this goes back to its early discovery.‭ ‬When described,‭ ‬Puntanipterus was noted as being similar to the filter feeding pterosaur Pterodaustro save for differences in the ankles and tibia.‭ ‬What must be remembered however is that pterosaur fossils,‭ ‬including those of Pterodaustro are … Read more

Elanodactylus

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

Cycnorhamphus

In Depth        Like many early discovered pterosaurs the taxonomic history of Cycnorhamphus is quite muddled. Initially assigned to Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur discovered that ended up being treated like a wastebasket for almost any discovered pterosaur remains, Harry Seeley redesignated the specimen Cycnorhamphus. However another palaeontologist, Felix Plieninger, cited mistakes in the description and in … Read more

Tropeognathus

In Depth        Tropeognathus was first named in‭ ‬1987‭ ‬after the description of a pterosaur skull that had been purchased from a fossil dealer.‭ ‬In‭ ‬2002‭ ‬a set of lower jaws was further attributed to the genus,‭ ‬and most recently at the time of writing a third specimen was added in‭ ‬2013,‭ ‬and this was the … Read more

Cimoliopterus

In Depth        Initially described as a species of Pterodactylus, Cimoliopterus was named as a distinct pterosaur genus in 2013. Little is known about Cimoliopterus due to the parcity of known fossils which are fragmentary at best. However, the fact that fossils of this pterosaur have been found in both England and the USA indicates that … Read more

Nesodactylus

In Depth        Nesodactylus was actually collected way back in 1918 by Barnum Brown, but it was not until the limestone blocks that the remains were in cased were dissolved in acid in 1966 that the remains became known. Not much can be said about the diet and lifestyle of Nesodactylus except that it was a … Read more

Herbstosaurus

In Depth        It was once thought that Herbstosaurus represented one of the first pterosaurs of the more advanced Pterodactyloidea, however it is now realised that it recovered from a Vaca Muerta Formation which dated as being from the Tithonian. Herbstosaurus has continued to cause some disagreement between palaeontologists as to its exact position within the … Read more

Tacuadactylus

In Depth        Tacuadactylus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur that lived in South America during the late Jurassic.‭ ‬As a ctenochasmatid,‭ ‬Tacuadactylus would have probably been a filter feeder,‭ ‬using its teeth which faced out to the sides to filter out small invertebrates from soft silt and mud. Further reading -‭ ‬A new ctenochasmatid‭ (‬Pterosauria,‭ … Read more