Pterosaurs Fossil range: Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous
Coloborhynchus piscator, a pterodactyloid. The Late Triassic (also known as Upper Triassic, or Keuper) is the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England Coloborhynchus is a Genus of the Extinct Pterosauria, family Ornithocheiridae from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida (unranked) Archosauria Order: †Pterosauria Kaup, 1834
Suborders
†Pterodactyloidea †Rhamphorhynchoidea*

Pterosaurs (pronounced /ˈtɛrəsɔr/, from the Greek πτερόσαυρος, pterosauros, meaning "winged lizard", often referred to as pterodactyls, from the Greek πτεροδάκτυλος, pterodaktulos, meaning "winged finger" /ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨl/) were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Archosaurs ( Greek for 'ruling lizards' are a group of Diapsid Reptiles represented by Modern birds and Crocodilians This group also Johann Jakob Kaup ( April 10, 1803 - July 4, 1873) was a German naturalist This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of Pterosaurs and represent a grade of primitive members of this group of flying Reptiles. In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period (228 to 65 million years ago). The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning Year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages the accusative singular Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight. Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the thorax to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism The thorax is a division of an Animal 's body that lies between the head and the Abdomen. Earlier species had long, fully-toothed jaws and long tails, while later forms had a highly reduced tail, and some lacked teeth. Pterosaurs spanned a wide range of adult sizes, from the very small Nemicolopterus to the largest known flying creatures of all time, including Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx. Nemicolopterus is a Genus of pterodactyloid Pterosaur, described in 2008 Quetzalcoatlus (named for the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl) was a pterodactyloid Pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Hatzegopteryx (" Haţeg basin wing" is a Genus of azhdarchid Pterosaur, known from incomplete remains found in Transylvania ^[1][2][3]

Pterosaurs are sometimes referred to in the popular media as dinosaurs, but this is incorrect. The term "dinosaur" is properly restricted to a certain group of terrestrial reptiles with a unique upright stance (superorder Dinosauria), and therefore excludes the pterosaurs, as well as the various groups of extinct aquatic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs. Terrestrial animals are Animals that live predominantly or entirely on land as compared with Aquatic animals which live predominantly or entirely in the water (e Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Ichthyosaurs ( Greek for 'fish lizard' - ιχθυς / ichthyos meaning 'fish' and σαυρος / sauros meaning 'lizard' were giant Plesiosaurs (ˈpliːziəˌsɔɹ ( Greek: plesios/πλησιος meaning 'near' or 'close to' and sauros/σαυρος meaning Mosasaurs (from Latin Mosa meaning the ' Meuse river ' in the Netherlands and Greek sauros meaning 'lizard' were serpentine marine

Contents 1 History of discovery 2 Anatomy and palaeobiology 2.1 Wings 2.2 Hair 2.3 Nervous system 2.4 Ground movement 2.5 Predation 2.6 Reproduction 3 Evolution and extinction 3.1 Origins 3.2 Phylogeny and classification 3.3 Extinction 3.4 Well-known genera 4 Pterosaurs in popular culture 4.1 Living pterosaur hoax 5 See also 6 External links 7 Further reading 8 Notes and references

History of discovery

The first pterosaur fossil was described by the Italian naturalist Cosimo Collini in 1784. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging Collini misinterpreted his specimen as a sea-going creature that used its long front limbs as paddles. ^[4] A few scientists continued to support the aquatic interpretation even until 1830, when the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler suggested that Pterodactylus used its wings as flippers. Johann Georg Wagler ( March 28, 1800 - August 23, 1832) was a German Herpetologist. ^[5] Georges Cuvier first suggested that pterosaurs were flying creatures in 1801,^[6] and coined the name "Ptero-dactyle" 1809 for a specimen recovered in Germany; however, due to the standardization of scientific names, the official name for this species became Pterodactylus, though the name "pterodactyl" continued to be popularly applied to all members of this first specimen's order. Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier ( August 23 1769 &ndash May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that

Since the first pterosaur fossil was discovered in the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone in 1784, twenty-nine kinds of pterosaurs have been found in those deposits alone. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The Late Jurassic (or Malm) Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161 The Solnhofen limestone is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of Fossilized organisms some of which such as sea jellies A famous early UK find was an example of Dimorphodon by Mary Anning, at Lyme Regis in 1828. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Dimorphodon daiˈmɔː(rfədɑn ("Two-form Teeth" was a genus of medium-sized (wing span 1 Mary Anning ( May 21, 1799 &ndash March 9, 1847) was an early British Fossil collector and paleontologist. Lyme Regis (ˌlaɪmˈriːdʒɪs is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 Miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter The name Pterosauria was coined by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1834, though the name Ornithosauria (or "bird lizards", Bonaparte, 1838) was sometimes used in the early literature. Johann Jakob Kaup ( April 10, 1803 - July 4, 1873) was a German naturalist [2]

Most pterosaur fossils are poorly preserved. Their bones were hollow and, when sediments piled on top of them, the bones were flattened. Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of The best preserved fossils have come from the Araripe Plateau, Brazil. The Chapada do Araripe, also known as the Serra do Araripe, is a Chapada ( Plateau) in northeastern Brazil. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld For some reason, when the bones were deposited, the sediments encapsulated the bones, rather than crushing them. This created three-dimensional fossils for paleontologists to study. The first find in the Araripe Plateau was made in 1974.

Most paleontologists now believe that pterosaurs were adapted for active flight, not just gliding as was earlier believed. Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal. Flight is the process by which an object achieves sustained movement either through the Air (or movement beyond Earth's atmosphere, in the case of Gliding is a Recreational activity and competitive Sport in which pilots fly un-powered aircraft known as Gliders or sailplanes Pterosaur fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica. At least 60 genera of pterosaurs have been found to date, ranging from the size of a small bird to wingspans in excess of 10 meters (33 feet). A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit

Anatomy and palaeobiology

The anatomy of pterosaurs was highly modified from their reptilian ancestors for the demands of flight. Pterosaur bones were hollow and air filled, like the bones of birds. In Biology, the skeleton is a strong and often a rigid framework that supports the body of an animal holding it upright and giving it shape and strength (Also skeletal Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. They had a keeled breastbone that was developed for the attachment of flight muscles and an enlarged brain that shows specialised features associated with flight. The sternum (from Greek στέρνον sternon, "chest" or breastbone) is a long flat Bone located in the center of the thorax (chest Muscle (from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus "mouse" is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain ^[7]

Wings

Pterosaur wings were formed by membranes of skin and other tissues, strengthened by various types of closely spaced fibers called actinofibrillae. ^[8] The membranes attached to the extremely long fourth finger of each arm and extended along the sides of the body. A finger is a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the Hands of Humans and other Primates Normally humans have five digits In Anatomy, an arm is one of the Upper limbs of an animal The term arm can also be used for analogous structures such as one of the paired upper limbs A bone unique to pterosaurs, known as the pteroid, connected to the wrist and helped to support a membrane (the propatagium) between the wrist and shoulder. It has been argued that the pteroid might have been able to swing forward to extend this membrane,^[9], although this is strongly contested by other researchers. ^[10] In some later pterosaurs, the backbone over the shoulders fused into a structure known as a notarium, which served to stiffen the torso during flight, and provide a stable support for the scapula (shoulder blade). Notarium is a term used for the fused vertebra of the shoulder in Birds and some Pterosaurs The structure helps brace the chest against the forces generated In Anatomy, the scapula, omo, or shoulder blade, is the Bone that connects the Humerus (arm bone with the Clavicle (collar

There has been considerable argument among paleontologists about whether the wings attached to the hindlimbs as well. Fossils of the rhamphorhynchoid Sordes,^[11] the anurognathid Jeholopterus,^[12] and a pterodactyloid from the Santana Formation seem to demonstrate that the wing membrane did attach to the hindlimbs, at least in some species. Sordes (meaning "devil" in Greek was a small Pterosaur that lived in the late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic era. Anurognathids were a group of small Pterosaurs, mostly tailess that lived worldwide during the Jurassic Period. Jeholopterus was a small Anurognathid Pterosaur from the Daohugou Beds of northeastern China (of uncertain age possibly Middle The Santana Formation is a geologic Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation in northeastern Brazil 's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco ^[13] However, modern bats and flying squirrels show considerable variation in the extent of their wing membranes and it is possible that, like these groups, different species of pterosaur had different wing designs. The flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of Squirrels ( family Sciuridae) Indeed, analysis of pterosaur limb proportions shows that there was considerable variation, possibly reflecting a variety of wing-plans. ^[14] Many if not all pterosaurs also had webbed feet, and although these have been considered to be evidence of swimming, they may have had an aerodynamic function. ^[15] Webbed feet are also seen in some gliding animals such as colugos, the "flying lemurs".

Hair

There is no fossil evidence of feathers, but pterosaurs were unique among reptiles in that at least some of them were covered with hair, similar to but not homologous with mammalian hair. Hair is a keratinised protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the Dermis. In Evolutionary biology, homology has come to mean any similarity between characters that is due to their shared ancestry. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Pterosaur "hair" is not true hair as seen in mammals, but a unique structure that developed a similar appearance through convergent evolution. Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages Although in some cases fibers in the wing membrane have been mistaken for hair, some fossils such as those of Sordes pilosus (the "hairy demon") do show the unmistakable imprints of hair on the head and body,^[11] not unlike modern-day bats, another example of convergent evolution. Sordes (meaning "devil" in Greek was a small Pterosaur that lived in the late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic era. The presence of hair (and the demands of flight) imply that pterosaurs were endothermic ('warm-blooded').

Nervous system

A study of pterosaur brain cavities using X-rays has revealed extraordinary information about their habits. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain Studying fossil pterosaur skulls is extremely difficult because they are so delicate, but Lawrence Witmer at Ohio University in Athens and his colleagues used X-ray CT scans to build up 3D images of the brains of two species. Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual ^[7] One striking finding was that the animals (Rhamphorhynchus muensteri and Anhanguera santanae) had massive flocculi. Anhanguera (meaning "old devil" is a genus of pterodactyloid Pterosaur known from the Lower- Cretaceous ( Aptian) Santana Formation The flocculus is a brain region that integrates signals from joints, muscles, skin and the balance organs.

The pterosaurs' flocculi occupied 7. 5% of the animals' total brain mass, more than in any other vertebrate. Birds have unusually large flocculi compared with other animals, but these only occupy between 1 and 2% of total brain mass. ^[7]

The flocculus sends out neural signals that produce small, automatic movements in the eye muscles. These keep the image on an animal's retina steady. Pterosaurs may have had such a large flocculus because of their large wing size,^[7] which would mean that there was a great deal more sensory information to process.

Ground movement

Pterosaur's hip sockets were oriented facing slightly upwards, and the head of the femur (thigh bone) was only moderately inward facing, suggesting that pterosaurs had a semi-erect stance. The femur is the thigh bone In Humans, it is the longest, most voluminous and strongest Bone. It would have been possible to lift the thigh into a horizontal position during flight as gliding lizards do.

There has been considerable debate in the past about whether pterosaurs moved about on the ground as quadrupeds or as bipeds. Quadrupedalism (from Latin meaning "four legs" is a form of land animal locomotion using four legs. Bipedalism is a form of Terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs In the 1980s, paleontologist Kevin Padian suggested that smaller pterosaurs with longer hindlimbs such as Dimorphodon might have walked or even run bipedally, in addition to flying, not unlike modern road runners. Kevin Padian is a Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California Berkeley, Curator of Paleontology, University of California Museum Dimorphodon daiˈmɔː(rfədɑn ("Two-form Teeth" was a genus of medium-sized (wing span 1 The roadrunners are two species of Bird in the genus Geococcyx of the Cuckoo family Cuculidae native to North and ^[16] However, a large number of pterosaur trackways are now known, with a distinctive four-toed hind foot and three-toed front foot; these are the unmistakable prints of pterosaurs walking on all fours. A fossil trackway is a type of Fossil impression a Trackway made by a once living organism usually by its feet ^[17][18]

Unlike most vertebrates, which walk on their toes with ankles held off the ground (digitigrade), fossil footprints show that pterosaurs stood with the entire foot in contact with the ground (plantigrade), in a manner similar to humans and bears. A digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits or toes In Mammals, plantigrade locomotion means walking with the podials and Metatarsals flat on the ground Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Footprints from azhdarchids show that at least some pterosaurs walked with an erect, rather than sprawling, posture. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous ^[15]

Though traditionally depicted as ungainly and awkward when on the ground, the anatomy of at least some pterosaurs (particularly pterodactyloids) suggests that they were competent walkers and runners. ^[19] The forelimb bones of azhdarchids and ornithocheirids were unusually long compared to other pterosaurs, and in azhdarchids, the bones of the arm and hand (metacarpals) were particularly elongated, and azhdarchid front limbs as a whole were proportioned similarly to fast-running ungulate mammals. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Ornithocheiroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Ungulates (meaning roughly "being Hoofed quot or "hoofed animal" are several groups of Mammals most of which use the tips of their toes usually Their hind limbs, on the other hand, were not built for speed, but they were long compared with most pterosaurs, and allowed for a long stride length. While azhdarchid pterosaurs probably could not run, they would have been relatively fast and energy efficient. ^[15]

The relative size of the hands and feet in pterosaurs (by comparison with modern animals such as birds) may indicate what type of lifestyle pterosaurs led on the ground. Azhdarchid pterosaurs had relatively small feet compared to their body size and leg length, with foot length only about 25%-30% the length of the lower leg. This suggests that azhdarchids were better adapted to walking on dry, relatively solid ground. Pteranodon had slightly larger feet (47% the length of the tibia), while filter-feeding pterosaurs like the ctenochasmatoids had very large feet (69% of tibial length in Pterodactylus, 84% in Pterodaustro), adapted to walking in soft muddy soil, similar to modern wading birds. Pteranodon (tɨˈrænədɒn from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν -οδων "toothless" from the Late Cretaceous ( The tibia, shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two Bones in the Leg below the Knee in vertebrates and connects Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that Pterodaustro was a Cretaceous Pterosaur from South America, living 140 million years ago ^[15]

Predation

Pterosaurs are known to have been eaten by spinosaurs. Spinosauridae is a family of unusual Theropod Dinosaurs Members of this group were large Bipedal Predators with elongated Crocodile In the 1 July 2004 edition of Nature, paleontologist Eric Buffetaut discusses an early Cretaceous fossil of three cervical vertebrae of a pterosaur with the broken tooth of a spinosaur embedded in it. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Nature is a prominent Scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869 A vertebra (plural vertebrae) is an individual Irregular bone in the spinal or Vertebral column ( aka ischis a flexuous and flexible column The vertebrae are known not to have been eaten and exposed to digestion, as the joints still articulated. ^[20]

Reproduction

Very little is known about pterosaur reproduction. A single pterosaur egg has been found in the quarries of Liaoning, the same place that yielded the famous 'feathered' dinosaurs. The egg was squashed flat with no signs of cracking, so evidently the eggs had leathery shells, as in modern lizards. ^[21] The embryo's wing membranes were well developed,^[22] suggesting pterosaurs were ready to fly soon after birth. This is corroborated by very young animals found in the Solnhofen limestone beds, where they presumably flew to the middle of a lagoon, fell in and drowned. It is not known whether pterosaurs practised parental care, but their comparatively early flight capabilities suggest the young were not completely dependent on parents as most birds are.

A study of pterosaur eggshell structure and chemistry published in 2007 indicated that it is likely pterosaurs buried their eggs, like modern crocodile and turtles. A crocodile is any Species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the Subfamily Crocodylinae) Turtles are Reptiles of the Order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the Crown group Chelonia) most of Egg-burying would have been beneficial to the early evolution of pterosaurs, as it allows for more weight-reducing adaptations, but this method of reproduction also would have put limits on the variety of environments pterosaurs could live in, and may have disadvantaged them when they began to face ecological competition from birds. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. ^[23] The alternative would be for the mother to retain the egg within the body until just prior to hatching, as some lizards do, but archosaurs are incapable of.

Evolution and extinction

Origins

Because pterosaur anatomy has been so heavily modified for flight, and immediate "missing link" predecessors have not so far been described, the ancestry of pterosaurs is not well understood. Anatomy (from the Greek anatomia, from ana separate apart from and temnein, to cut up cut open is a branch of Biology that is the consideration Several hypotheses have been advanced, with the most common in recent years being links to ornithodirans like Scleromochlus, an ancestry among the archosauriforms like Euparkeria (a more traditional view), or related to prolacertiformes like Sharovipteryx. Ornithodira is a Clade within the larger group Archosauria In 1986 Jacques Gauthier coined the name for a node clade containing the last common Scleromochlus is an Extinct Genus of small Ornithodiran from the Late Triassic period Archosauriformes ( Greek for 'ruling lizards' and 'form' are a clade of Diapsid Reptiles that developed from Archosauromorph ancestors some time Euparkeria (/juˈpɑː(rkəriːə/ meaning "Parker's good animal" named in honor of W Prolacertiformes (sometimes called protorosaurs) were an order of archosauromorph Reptiles that lived during the Permian and Triassic Sharovipteryx ("Sharov's wing" previously known as Podopteryx, "foot wing" was among the earliest gliding reptiles from the early Triassic ^[24] At least one pterosaur specialist, David Unwin, finds none of these options convincing for various anatomical reasons. ^[24]

They were thought to have evolved flight from some manner other than the 'tree-down' route possibly taken by birds, because pterosaurs demonstrated no adaptations useful for tree living. Most scenarios have pterosaurs evolving from long-legged, ground-running ancestors like Scleromochlus or Sharovipteryx, both of which had webs of skin from long hind legs to their bodies or tails. Scleromochlus is an Extinct Genus of small Ornithodiran from the Late Triassic period Sharovipteryx ("Sharov's wing" previously known as Podopteryx, "foot wing" was among the earliest gliding reptiles from the early Triassic This suggested a 'ground-up' evolution of flight or even a route that evolved by gliding from cliff-tops.

However, new (2008) findings suggest that the earliest pterosaurs were small, tree dwelling, insectivorous organisms. ^[25]

Phylogeny and classification

For more details on this topic, see List of pterosaur classifications. This list of pterosaur classifications entails the various schemes used to classify Pterosaurs throughout the years and varying views of these Animals Classic

Classification of pterosaurs has historically been difficult, because there were many gaps in the fossil record. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Many new discoveries are now filling in these gaps and giving us a better picture of the evolution of pterosaurs. Traditionally, they are organized into two suborders:

• Rhamphorhynchoidea (Plieninger, 1901): A group of early, basal ("primitive") pterosaurs, many of which had long tails and short metacarpal bones in the wing. Taxonomic rank ( rank, category, taxonomic category is an abstract term used in the Scientific classification, or Taxonomy, of organisms The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of Pterosaurs and represent a grade of primitive members of this group of flying Reptiles. The metacarpus is the intermediate part of the Hand Skeleton that is located between the Phalanges (bones of the fingers Distally and the They were small, and their fingers were still adapted to climbing. They appeared in the Late Triassic period, and lasted until the late Jurassic. Rhamphorhynchoidea is a paraphyletic group (since the pterodactyloids evolved directly from them and not from a common ancestor), so with the increasing use of cladistics it has fallen out of favor in most technical literature. In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry

• Pterodactyloidea (Plieninger, 1901): The more derived ("advanced") pterosaurs, with short tails and long wing metacarpals. Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος The metacarpus is the intermediate part of the Hand Skeleton that is located between the Phalanges (bones of the fingers Distally and the They appeared in the middle Jurassic period, and lasted until the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event wiped them out at the end of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which occurred approximately ( Ma) was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of

Listing of families and superfamilies within Pterosauria, after Unwin 2006. ^[26]

• ORDER PTEROSAURIA (extinct)
  • Suborder Rhamphorhynchoidea *
    • Family Dimorphodontidae
    • Family Anurognathidae
    • Family Campylognathoididae
    • Family Rhamphorhynchidae
  • Suborder Pterodactyloidea
    • Superfamily Ornithocheiroidea
      • Family Istiodactylidae
      • Family Ornithocheiridae
      • Family Pteranodontidae
      • Family Nyctosauridae
    • Superfamily Ctenochasmatoidea
      • Family Gallodactylidae
      • Family Pterodactylidae
      • Family Ctenochasmatidae
    • Superfamily Dsungaripteroidea
      • Family Germanodactylidae
      • Family Dsungaripteridae
    • Superfamily Azhdarchoidea
      • Family Lonchodectidae
      • Family Tapejaridae
      • Family Azhdarchidae

The precise relationships between pterosaurs is still unsettled. The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of Pterosaurs and represent a grade of primitive members of this group of flying Reptiles. In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all Anurognathids were a group of small Pterosaurs, mostly tailess that lived worldwide during the Jurassic Period. Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος Ornithocheiroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Ornithocheiroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Pteranodontidae is a family of large Pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Cycnorhamphus (meaning " Swan beak" is a Genus of ctenchasmatoid pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Late Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that Dsungaripteroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Germanodactylus ("German finger" is a Genus of dsungaripteroid pterodactyloid Pterosaur from Late Jurassic Azhdarchoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Lonchodectes (meaning " Lance biter" was a Genus of ? Azhdarchoid Pterosaur from several formations dating Tapejaridae (meaning "the old beings" are a family of Pterodactyloid Pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous period. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous However, several newer studies are beginning to make things clearer. Cladogram simplified after Unwin. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry ^[27]

Pterosauria

Preondactylus     Macronychoptera     Dimorphodontidae     Caelidracones     Anurognathidae   Lonchognatha     Campylognathoididae   Breviquartossa     Rhamphorhynchidae   Pterodactyloidea     Ornithocheiroidea     Istiodactylidae     Euornithocheira     Ornithocheiridae     Pteranodontidae     Lophocratia     Ctenochasmatoidea     Gallodactylidae     Euctenochasmia     Pterodactylus     Lonchodectes     Ctenochasmatidae     Dsungaripteroidea     Germanodactylidae     Dsungaripteridae     Azhdarchoidea     Tapejaridae     Azhdarchidae

Extinction

Competition with early avian dinosaur species may have resulted in the extinction of many of the pterosaurs. For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros Preondactylus is a Genus of long-tailed Pterosaur from the Late Triassic that inhabited what is now Italy. Anurognathids were a group of small Pterosaurs, mostly tailess that lived worldwide during the Jurassic Period. Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος Ornithocheiroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Ornithocheiroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Pteranodontidae is a family of large Pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America Ctenochasmatoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Cycnorhamphus (meaning " Swan beak" is a Genus of ctenchasmatoid pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Late Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that Lonchodectes (meaning " Lance biter" was a Genus of ? Azhdarchoid Pterosaur from several formations dating Dsungaripteroidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Azhdarchoidea is a group of Pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Tapejaridae (meaning "the old beings" are a family of Pterodactyloid Pterosaurs from the early Cretaceous period. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. By the end of the Cretaceous, only large species of pterosaurs are known. The smaller species seem to have become extinct, their niche filled by birds,^[28] though a lack of small pterosaurs in the fossil record could also be a result of poor preservation due to the fragility of their skeletons. At the end of the Cretaceous period, the great extinction which wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs plus most avian dinosaurs as well, and many other animals, seemed to also take the pterosaurs. Alternatively, most pterosaurs may have been specialised for an ocean-going lifestyle. Consequently, when the K-T mass-extinction severely affected marine life that most pterosaurs fed on, they went extinct. The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which occurred approximately ( Ma) was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically

Well-known genera

Main article: List of pterosaurs

Examples of pterosaur genera include:

• Dsungaripterus had a wingspan of 3 metres (10 ft), an unusual bony crest running along its snout, and long, narrow, curved jaws with a pointed tip. This list of pterosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Pterosauria excluding purely vernacular terms A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Dsungaripterus ("Wing of Junggar Basin" was a Genus of Pterosaur with an average wingspan of 3 metres (10 feet The jaw is either of the two opposable structures forming or near the entrance to the Mouth. It lived during the early Cretaceous period.
• Pteranodon was 1. Pteranodon (tɨˈrænədɒn from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν -οδων "toothless" from the Late Cretaceous ( 8 metres (six feet) long, with a wingspan of 7. 5 m (25 ft), and lived during the late Cretaceous period.
• Pterodactylus had a wingspan of 50 to 75 centimeters (20 to 30 inches), and lived during the late Jurassic on lake shores. Pterodactylus (ˌtɛrəˈdæktɨləs TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) is a Genus of Pterosaur (the first to be named and identified as a flying reptile that A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the
• Pterodaustro was a Cretaceous pterosaur from South America with a wingspan around 1. Pterodaustro was a Cretaceous Pterosaur from South America, living 140 million years ago South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a 33 metres and with over 500 tall, narrow teeth, which were presumably used in filter-feeding, much like modern flamingos. Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family Also like flamingos, this pterosaur's diet may have resulted in the animal having a pink hue. Pink is a pale Red Color that was first recorded in the 17th century to describe the pale red Flowers of pinks, Flowering plants It was South America's first pterosaur find.
• Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of 10-11 metres (33-36 feet), and was among the largest flying animals ever. Quetzalcoatlus (named for the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl) was a pterodactyloid Pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous It lived during the late Cretaceous period.
• Rhamphorhynchus was a Jurassic pterosaur with a vane at the end of its tail, which may have acted to stabilise the tail in flight. Rhamphorhynchus (ˌræmfəˈrɪŋkəs was a long-tailed Pterosaur of the Jurassic period

Pterosaurs in popular culture

Pterosaurs are a staple of popular culture. While the generic term "pterodactyl" is often used to describe these creatures, the animal depicted is frequently a Pteranodon or some other specific species of pterosaur, or a fictionalized hybrid of several species. Pteranodon (tɨˈrænədɒn from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν -οδων "toothless" from the Late Cretaceous ( Many children's toys and cartoons feature "pterodactyls" with Pteranodon-like crests and long, Rhamphorhynchus-like tails and teeth, a combination that never existed in nature. Rhamphorhynchus (ˌræmfəˈrɪŋkəs was a long-tailed Pterosaur of the Jurassic period However, at least one type of pterosaur did have at least the Pteranodon-like crest and teeth--for example, the Ludodactylus, a name that means "toy finger" for its resemblance to old, inaccurate children's toys. Ludodactylus (meaning "play finger" referring to the fact that like many Toy pterosaurs it combined Teeth with a Pteranodon Notable examples of older fictional works featuring pterosaurs include Arthur Conan Doyle's book The Lost World and the 1933 film King Kong. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a Plateau in South America where prehistoric King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from

The Fell beast or Nazgul mount of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books is very similar to a pterosaur. In J R R Tolkien 's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, "fell beast" is the author's description of the flying creatures on which the The Lord of the Rings is an epic

Living pterosaur hoax

It was reported in an article in The Illustrated London News (February 9, 1856, page 166) that, in 1856, workmen laboring in a tunnel for a railway line, between Saint-Dizier and Nancy, in France, were cutting through Jurassic limestone when a large creature stumbled out from inside it. Saint-Dizier is a town and commune in the Haute-Marne department in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. Nancy (nɑ̃si archaic Nanzig Nanzeg is a city and commune in the Lorraine région of northeastern France This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It fluttered its wings, made a croaking noise and dropped dead. According to the workers, the creature had a 10-foot (3. 0 m) wingspan, four legs joined by a membrane, black leathery skin, talons for feet and a toothed mouth. A local student of paleontology identified the animal as a pterodactyl. The report had the animal turn to dust, as soon as it had died.

This incredible hoax was stimulated in part by contemporary Franco-Prussian palaeontological rivalry. The Solnhofen limestone from Bavaria (in which Archaeopteryx would later be discovered) was producing many prized fossils, each of which was proudly announced by German paleontologists. The Solnhofen limestone is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of Fossilized organisms some of which such as sea jellies Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12 Archaeopteryx, sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel ("original bird" or "first bird" is the earliest and most primitive Bird The tunnel in question was through limestone of similar age to the Solnhofen Limestone, so it presented an opportunity for a shocking story by the French.

See also

• List of pterosaurs
• Mary Anning
• Wyvern
• Flying and gliding animals

External links

• Pterosaur FAQ's, by Raymond Thaddeus C. This list of pterosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Pterosauria excluding purely vernacular terms Mary Anning ( May 21, 1799 &ndash March 9, 1847) was an early British Fossil collector and paleontologist. A wyvern or wivern (derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for serpent and ˈwɪvən is a legendary winged reptilian creature often found in Mediaeval A number of Animals have evolved aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding Ancog.
• The Pterosaur Database, by Paul Pursglove.
• The Pterosauria, by Mike Hanson.
• Comments on the phylogeny of the pterodactyloidea, by Alexander W. A. Kellner. (technical)

Further reading

• Unwin, David M. (2006). Pterosaurs From Deep Time. Pi Press: New York. ISBN 0-13-146308-X
• Wellnhofer P (1991): Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs, Crescent Books

Notes and references

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