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
In Depth Leptostomia is a genus of pterosaur that lived in North Africa during the Cretaceous, possibly at the boundary of the early and late periods of the Cretaceous. Leptostomia is thought to have been a small pterosaur, possibly possessing a very slim elongated beak. This might have been a feeding adaptation for probing into … Read more
In Depth Caulkicephalus had to be reconstructed from several fragments before it could be classified. Once pieced together the form of an ornithocheirid pterosaur was easy to see including the specialised fish catching dentition. Although only the replacement teeth that are still within the jaw have been preserved, the size of the actual teeth can … Read more
In Depth Described in 2012, Europejara has gone down as the first tapejarid pterosaur known from Europe. At the time of writing the only known fossils of this pterosaur are a partial skull and lower jaw. The preserved portion of the skull is two hundred and thirty millimetres long, though in life the skull is … Read more
In Depth Despite the fact that Mythunga is only known from a partial skull it is still one of the best preserved Australian pterosaur fossils which are in themselves rare from Australia. This is not to say that Australia didn’t have its fair share of pterosaurs, just that they did not preserve very well in … Read more
In Depth Possibly the main feature of interest to researchers of Germanodactylus is the head crest. Although quite unremarkable compared to some other pterosaurs like Nyctosaurus or Tupandactylus, it is a good example of the early forms that seem to be more common to the more advanced pterodactyloid pterosaurs. The crest itself is best known … Read more