In Depth
Alcione is a genus of small nyctosaurid pterosaur that lived in North Africa during the late Cretaceous. Alcione is noted for having very short wings, something that could aid either flapping flight, or perhaps streamlining for use after entering water. This feature combined with the knowledge of the Alcione fossils coming from a marine environment have yielded the idea that Alcione may have lived and hunted in a similar fashion to a modern kingfisher.
Alcione was named after Alcyone, a figure in Ancient Greek Mythology, who was the daughter of King Aeolus and turned into a kingfisher after her death.
Further Reading
- Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. - PLoS Biology 16(3):e2001663:1-38. - N. R. Longrich, D. M. Martill & B. Andres - 2018.
