In Depth Vesperopterylus is a genus of anurognathid pterosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Further Reading - Short note on a new anurognathid pterosaur with evidence of perching behaviour from Jianchang of Liaoning Province, China. - J. L�, Q. Meng, B. Wang, D. Liu, C. Shen & Y.Zhang - 2017.
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 Sinomacrops is a genus of anurognathid pterosaur that lived in South-East Asia during the Jurassic. Even when compared to other anurognathids, Sinomacrops seems to have been tiny and was probably a hunter of insects. When compared to other anurognathid genera, Sinomacrops seems to have been similar to another tiny pterosaur called Batrachognathus. Further … Read more
In Depth Of all the pterosaurs Laopteryx probably has the least amount of fossil material attributed to it, only a rear portion of the skull. When Othniel Charles Marsh named it he thought that he was actually dealing with a prehistoric bird. This thinking held true until 1986 when John Ostrom found it to be … 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 Orientognathus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in China during the mid Jurassic. Further Reading - A new rhamphorhynchid pterosaur (Pterosauria) from Jurassic deposits of Liaoning Province, China. - Zootaxa 3911(1):119-129. - J. Lu, H. Pu, X. Wei, H. Chang & M. Kundrat - 2015.