Pteranodontidae
These big, crested beasts were the great fishermen of their time, diving underwater to catch their slippery prey. They also made a big splash in pop culture with their iconic look and charisma.
Pterosaurs
6 genera-
SantonianDawndraco
Long regarded as a specimen of Pteranodon, Dawndraco kanzai is a crested fish-eater with an overbite.
Wingspan 7 m -
SantonianGeosternbergia
This fisher of the open sea had a long toothless bill and a tall rectangular crest.
Wingspan 7 m -
ConiacianPteranodon
The best-known of all pterosaurs, and the most iconic, Pteranodon fished from the Late Cretaceous seas like a gigantic albatross. It lived in male-dominated societies, with the opposite sex being pint-sized next to their massive mates.
Wingspan 6.5 m -
AptianSantanadactylus
One of the first pterosaurs found in Brazil’s Araripe Basin is also one of its most mysterious.
Wingspan 4.5 m -
MaastrichtianTethydraco
Tethydraco fished in the Atlantic Ocean less than a million years before an asteroid caused the K-Pg Extinction.
Wingspan 5 m -
CampanianVolgadraco
This Late Cretaceous pterosaur hunted on low-lying subtropical islands in what is now Russia.
Wingspan 1.5 m
