In Depth As a member of the Anurognathidae, Batrachognathus is seen as being related to other pterosaurs such as Dendrorhynchoides, Jeholopterus and Anurognathus itself. Unfortunately Batrachognathus has also suffered from being damaged during the fossilisation process with the tall and broad skull being broken into several pieces as it lay under pressure in the lacustrine … Read more
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 Wightia is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur that lived in Europe during the early Cretaceous. Wightia is named after the Isle of Wight which is situated on the southern coast of England. Further Reading - First tapejarid pterosaur from the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group: Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the United Kingdom. - Cretaceous … Read more
In Depth The remains for Bennettazhia were actually described back in 1928 by Charles W. Gilmore, although he actually assigned the fossils to Pteranodon under the new species name P. oregonensis. It was not until 1989 when S. Christopher Bennet found that the remains were not those of a Pteranodon but of an unknown azhdarchid … Read more
In Depth Carniadactylus was born out of the realisation that a pterosaur specimen that was attributed to Eudimorphodon actually represented a different genus. Aside from being smaller than Eudimorphodon, one of the main areas of difference is the proportionately longer legs of Carniadactylus. Since it has now been placed within the campylognathoididae, Carniadactylus is considered … Read more
In Depth With the skull being wider than it is long, Jeholpterus has the same basic skull morphology consistent with all anurognathid pterosaurs. Most of the teeth are small but some are longer and recurved (backwards towards the mouth). The claws of the hands and feet are long and curved, longer on the hands, meaning … Read more
In Depth At the time of its naming Pangupterus is known only from a single jaw bone. This jaw reveals that this pterosaur had small conical teeth jutting out to the sides at an angle. This in turn suggests that Pangupterus was a hunter of fish. Further Reading - A New Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the … Read more
In Depth Tupuxuara was a diurnal pterosaur that lived close to the sea, and is thought to have hunted for fish. The elaborate crest shows evidence of an extensive network of blood vessels. Although possibly for thermoregulation, a more likely scenario is that Tupuxuara flushed blood into its crest to produce a striking and vivid … Read more
In Depth Seazzadactylus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in Europe during the late Triassic. Further Reading - Seazzadactylus venieri gen. et sp. nov., a new pterosaur (Diapsida: Pterosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of northeastern Italy. - PeerJ 7(e7363). - F. M. Dalla Vecchia - 2019.
In Depth Mimodactylus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in North Africa during the earlier stages of the Late Cretaceous. Mimodactylus is described from the almost complete fossil remains of a juvenile. Mimodactylus has teeth that are fairly short, conical and unserrated. These teeth would have been most suited to cracking opened the hard … Read more