Ctenochasmatidae
They filtered little creatures from the water with stringy teeth, and flew across lakes and seas on narrow albatross-like wings.
Pterosaurs
15 genera-
TithonianAurorazhdarcho
This small, filter-feeding pterosaur had a semicircular crest on its snout.
Wingspan 90 cm -
AptianBeipiaopterus
The only specimen of Beipiaopterus has fossilized wing membranes preserving blood vessels and stiffening fibers.
Wingspan 1 m -
BarremianCathayopterus
Cathayopterus used dozens of needle-like teeth to trap small animals found while dabbling in the water or mud.
Wingspan 1.7 m -
TithonianCtenochasma
This German flier was sometimes no bigger than today's smaller birds. Its main claim to fame though, are its teeth, which had evolved into bristles for filtering tiny plankton out of the lagoons.
Wingspan 70 cm -
BarremianElanodactylus
Elanodactylus was the largest of the suspension-feeding ctenochasmatids.
Wingspan 2.5 m -
BarremianFeilongus
This double-crested suspension feeder lived in a temperate forest that became one of the world's most productive fossil sites.
Wingspan 2.4 m -
BarremianForfexopterus
Scientists have discovered a new flying reptile from the famous Jehol Biota of northeastern China. This new pterosaur has an extremely long narrow skull with teeth modified for filter feeding.
Wingspan 2 m -
BarremianGegepterus
This jay-sized filter-feeding pterosaur lived alongside famous feathered dinosaurs in a temperate forest in what is now northeastern China.
Wingspan 60 cm -
KimmeridgianGnathosaurus
This filter-feeder was one of many Solnhofen pterosaurs, and like many of them it was a small creature that lived close to the sea. It strained its food from the water with a set of long, thin teeth and a rather spoonbill-shaped jaw.
Wingspan 1.7 m -
TithonianHuanhepterus
China’s Ordos Basin was once home to the medium-sized suspension-feeding pterosaur Huanhepterus.
Wingspan 2.5 m -
OxfordianLiaodactylus
Tiny Liaodactylus is the earliest known filter-feeding pterosaur.
Wingspan 40 cm -
AptianOtogopterus
This narrow-snouted pterosaur waded into an ancient inland lake in search of food.
Wingspan 1.5 m -
TithonianPlataleorhynchus
This pterosaur may have fed like living spoonbill birds who have similarly shaped snouts.
Wingspan 2.5 m -
AptianPterodaustro
The very archetype of filter-feeding pterosaur, Pterodaustro is also South America's first pterosaur fossil find. It took its lifestyle to a new extreme as it sifted through Argentine lakes like a flamingo.
Wingspan 2.5 m -
BarremianPterofiltrus
Pterofiltrus, from China’s Yixian Formation, was a small ctenochasmatid pterosaur adapted for filter-feeding.
Wingspan 1 m
