Aetodactylus
Art: Joschua Knüppe
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Aetodactylus
/ee-to-DAK-til-us/
This American ornithocheiroid comes from the start of the Late Cretaceous, a time when not much is known from the rocks of the continent.
Pterosaur data
Mesozoic era · 252–66 Ma
Wingspan
About this pterosaur
The beginning of the Late Cretaceous, roughly 97 million years ago, is known for being rather lacking in terms of North American dinosaurs; however deposits in Texas give us a glimpse of some other animals that lived at the time. Among these is the pterosaur Aetodactylus halli. The name Aetodatylus means "eagle finger", a good name for a powerful flying animal.
The creature hails from the Tarrant Formation of Texas, a marine site that has previously revealed fossils like fish and dinosaur bones from the lowermost rocks of the Upper Cretaceous of southern USA. The holotype fossil is that of a nearly complete lower jaw which also includes sockets for 27 pairs of teeth. The four pairs of teeth at the tip of the jaw are arranged in a rosette pattern. This jaw is 38.4 centimeters long and resembles a narrow capital Y when viewed from above. Unlike most ornithocheirids, Aetodactylus bears no "chin" crest, but instead the tip of the jaw has a gentle, upward curve.
It is easy to reconstruct Aetodactylus halli as an albatross-like fisherman, grabbing its prey from just below the water's surface like other ornithocheiroids.
Across the network
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