The Museum
Pterosaurs
The flying reptiles that dominated Mesozoic skies from the Triassic through to the end of the Cretaceous — illustrated and documented.
KimmeridgianAerodactylus
Aerodactylus is named after the Fossil Pokémon character Aerodactyl in perhaps the only paleontology taxonomic nod to the Japanese franchise.
Wingspan 1 m
Ornithocheiridae·CenomanianAerodraco
The name Aerodraco harkens back to one of the oldest popular books written about pterosaurs.
Wingspan 3 m
Azhdarchidae·MaastrichtianAerotitan
"Titan" though its name might be, this pterosaur was hardly impressive in terms of size. But it is the first-known South American azhdarchid, and this in itself makes it a find of massive importance.
Wingspan 1.5 m
Ornithocheiridae·AlbianAetodactylus
This American ornithocheiroid comes from the start of the Late Cretaceous, a time when not much is known from the rocks of the continent.
Wingspan 3 m
Tapejaridae·AptianAfrotapejara
Africa’s first known tapejarid lived alongside the enormous theropod Spinosaurus.
Wingspan 4 m
Nyctosauridae·MaastrichtianAlamodactylus
Alamodactylus fished in seas that covered Texas 90 million years ago.
Wingspan 4.5 m
Azhdarchidae·AlbianAlanqa
Africa's first real azhdarchid discovery was also a neighbor of a few famous dinosaurs like the fish-eating Spinosaurus and the vicious Carcharodontosaurus.
Wingspan 4 m
Azhdarchidae·CampanianAlbadraco
Azhdarchids like Albadraco were the top predators on ancient Hateg Island.
Wingspan 6 m
Nyctosauridae·MaastrichtianAlcione
One of the last pterosaurs, Alcione may have been a plunge diver like kingfisher birds.
Wingspan 2 m
ToarcianAllkaruen
"Ancient brain" from the Jurassic of Argentina helps fill a gap in the pterosaur family tree.
Wingspan 80 cm
TithonianAltmuehlopterus
Paleontologists have known Altmuehlopterus since the 1850s, but only gave it a unique genus name in 2017.
Wingspan 1.1 m
Rhamphorhynchidae·BathonianAngustinaripterus
We don't often think of pterosaurs when we hear of China, but the country has revealed some interesting as well as relatively ordinary finds. One of these was Angustinaripterus, the quintessential Jurassic flier.
Wingspan 1.6 m
Ornithocheiridae·AptianAnhanguera
The "old devil" of the Brazilian skies was a powerful flier that soared over open seas, reeling in fish.
Wingspan 4.5 m
Anurognathidae·TithonianAnurognathus
The archetype of cute and weird pterosaurs, Anurognathus hunted at night. Its large eyes helped it to pick up even the faintest traces of light, while its massive fur-covered wings softened its movements against the still air.
Wingspan 50 cm
Chaoyangopteridae·CenomanianApatorhamphus
Although known only from snout fragments, Apatorhamphus adds to the diversity of pterosaurs known from the Kem Kem beds.
Wingspan 4 m
Azhdarchidae·CenomanianAralazhdarcho
Aralazhdarcho hunted near the shore of an ancient sea covering most of southern and western Europe.
Wingspan 3 m
Azhdarchidae·MaastrichtianArambourgiania
The only known fossil of Arambourgiania was found by chance near the side of a railway in the 1940s. It represents one of the first discoveries of an azhdarchid, and one of the largest of all known pterosaurs.
Wingspan 7 m
Ornithocheiridae·AptianAraripesaurus
The first pterosaur named from Brazil’s famous Santana Formation is only known from a partial wing.
Wingspan 2.2 m
Istiodactylidae·OxfordianArchaeoistiodactylus
Paleontologists once thought Archaeoistiodactylus was the earliest known short-tailed pterosaur, but they now think it is a closer relative of the transitional wukongopterids.
Wingspan 75 cm
Eudimorphodontidae·NorianArcticodactylus
The tiny Trassic pterosaur from Greenland had complex teeth and a varied diet.
Wingspan 24 cm
Gallodactylidae·TithonianArdeadactylus
Four of the six known specimens of Ardeadactylus were destroyed in World War II.
Wingspan 1.5 m
Azhdarchidae·MaastrichtianArgentinadraco
This Argentine pterosaur may have used its blade-like jaws to find food in beach sands.
Wingspan 3 m
Ornithocheiridae·AptianArthurdactylus
Arthurdactylus is named for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose novel “The Lost World” envisioned a land of living dinosaurs and pterosaurs on the same Brazilian plateau where its fossils were discovered.
Wingspan 4.6 m
Ctenochasmatidae·TithonianAurorazhdarcho
This small, filter-feeding pterosaur had a semicircular crest on its snout.
Wingspan 90 cm
Ornithocheiridae·AlbianAussiedraco
This “Aussie dragon” is one of only a few named Australian pterosaurs.
Wingspan 3.5 m
Eudimorphodontidae·NorianAustriadactylus
Austria's pet pterosaur was a very primitive flyer from the early years of the Mesozoic Era.
Wingspan 1.2 m
NorianAustriadraco
This pterosaur was found in the Alps, but lived around tropical lagoons in the Late Triassic.
Wingspan 80 cm
Tapejaridae·AptianAymberedactylus
Aymberedactylus is a "chin-crested" tapejarid from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation lagerstätte of Ceará, northeastern Brazil.
Wingspan 2 m
Azhdarchidae·TuronianAzhdarcho
This animal lent its name to a whole family of pterosaurs. The researchers who discovered Azhdarcho in 1984 could not have known just how bizarre it was in life.
Wingspan 4.5 m
Azhdarchidae·SantonianBakonydraco
This medium-sized Hungarian tapejarid was also the first of its kind to be discovered in Europe, but classified as something totally different.
Wingspan 4 m
Dsungaripteridae·AptianBanguela
The toothless granny pterosaur among toothy cousins, Banguela took the world by storm when it was publicized online and still continues to challenge the evolution of toothlessness among the flying reptiles.
Wingspan 3.6 m
Nyctosauridae·MaastrichtianBarbaridactylus
Barbaridactylus fished off the coast of Africa in the final years of the Mesozoic Era.
Wingspan 5 m
Ornithocheiridae·AptianBarbosania
This long-nosed pterosaur fished in the ancient Atlantic Ocean.
Wingspan 2.3 m
Anurognathidae·OxfordianBatrachognathus
This tiny “frog-mouthed” pterosaur was a master hunter of insects during the Late Jurassic in what is now Kazakhstan.
Wingspan 75 cm
Ctenochasmatidae·AptianBeipiaopterus
The only specimen of Beipiaopterus has fossilized wing membranes preserving blood vessels and stiffening fibers.
Wingspan 1 m
Rhamphorhynchidae·KimmeridgianBellubrunnus
The "beautiful one of Brunn" had wingtips that curved forward gracefully, a rather new and hitherto-unseen trait in a pterosaur.
Wingspan 30 cm
