Pterosaurs / Bakonydraco
Bakonydraco

Bakonydraco

Art: Julio Lacerda

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Azhdarchidae

Bakonydraco

/ba-KON-ee-dray-ko/

This medium-sized Hungarian tapejarid was also the first of its kind to be discovered in Europe, but classified as something totally different.

Pterosaur data

Family
Azhdarchidae
Age
Santonian
86.3–83.6 Ma
Wingspan
4 m
/ 12 m
Fossil record
partial
Partial skeleton recovered
Diet
carnivore

Mesozoic era · 252–66 Ma

Santonian
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 Ma 201 145 66 Ma

Wingspan

Bakonydraco wingspan comparison
4 m (13.1 ft)

About this pterosaur

Until the discovery of the Brazilian Caiuajara, Bakonydraco was the latest-known tapejarid in the fossil record, and it's also the first tapejarid to be discovered in Europe. However, its classification remained uncertain, bouncing back and forth between being a basal azhdarchoid and a proper azhdarchid, before being reclassified as a tapejarid. Thus when Europejara was discovered, it was this latter animal that got the title of Europe's first tapejarid; it is however, without a doubt, Hungary's first pterosaur discovery. 

Bakonydraco itself is roughly 85 million years old, thus hailing from the middle of the Late Cretaceous. It was discovered in a bauxite mine in Hungary's Bakony Mountains in a rock formation called the Csehbanya Formation. Csehbanya reveals a unique ecosystem, a swampy forested part of Eastern Europe with many smaller and medium-sized dinosaurs. Bakonydraco is so far the only named pterosaur from the formation. The holotype consists of jaw elements. 

Bakonydraco was a medium-sized member of its family. It is known from narrow jaws, the presence of which prompted scientists to believe that it was a fish eater. When alive, the narrow jaws of Bakonydraco terminated in an arrowhead or spearhead-like shape. This made them narrower than most tapejarid lower jaws. Aside from this, not much is known about the animal. Like other tapejarids, it probably bore a crest on its head for display purposes. 

Bakonydraco was an adept walker and runner like any other azhdarchoid. With a 4-meter wingspan it was larger than the biggest flying birds today but somewhat unimpressive among the biggest Cretaceous pterosaurs. Bakonydraco's diet is uncertain, although other tapejarids are thought to have consumed, fish, small vertebrates, and possibly seeds.

Across the network

Credits

Julio Lacerda
Julio Lacerda

Both illustrator and graphic designer, Julio Lacerda got into paleoart at the age of 17. Wishing to bridge the creativity of reconstructing prehistoric animals and the essence of wildlife documentaries, he seeks to represent dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals as complex and realistic living beings in both appearance and behavior, being protagonists of casual scenes. His work has been published and shown at several countries like Japan (Pterosaurs exhibition, Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum), United Kingdom (All Your Yesterdays by Irregular Books), USA (official publication of Siats meekerorum, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences) as well as his home country, Brazil.

Illustrator
Vasi Devi
Vasi Devi
Author
Nick Garland
Nick Garland
Exhibit designer
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