pterosaur
Mesozoic flying reptile
A pterosaur is an extinct flying reptile that lived during the age of dinosaurs.
Despite the wings and flight, pterosaurs were not dinosaurs but a separate group of reptiles.
They ranged from sparrow-sized to the largest flying animals ever known, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet.
The name means "winged lizard."
- crestHighest point or tuft
- beakHorny avian mouthpart
- hollow bonesAir-filled skeletal structure
- toothlessHaving no teeth
toothed · skull · vertebrae · quadrupedal · pneumatic bones · neck · tail · dimorphism
Tip-to-tip extent
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
- glidingEngineless aerial movement
- airborneTraveling through air
- aerodynamicsPhysics of air motion
lift · wingbeat · powered flight · aerial · takeoff · landing · thermal · updraft
Study of ancient organisms
- excavationAct of unearthing
- specimenIndividual for examination
- imprintMark from applied pressure
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
preservation · dig · sediment · stratigraphy · petrification · mineralization · coprolite · quarry
First Mesozoic period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- archosaurRuling reptile clade member
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
Pangea · Gondwana · ammonites · cycads · conifers · ichthyosaur · plesiosaur · mosasaur
wing membrane
- crestHighest point or tuft
- beakHorny avian mouthpart
- hollow bonesAir-filled skeletal structure
toothless · toothed · skull · vertebrae · quadrupedal · pneumatic bones · neck · tail · dimorphism · soft tissue
wingspan
Tip-to-tip extent
aerodynamics · lift · wingbeat · powered flight · aerial · takeoff · landing · thermal · updraft · hollow bones
paleontology
Study of ancient organisms
- excavationAct of unearthing
- specimenIndividual for examination
- imprintMark from applied pressure
skeleton · preservation · dig · sediment · stratigraphy · petrification · mineralization · coprolite · quarry · bone fragment
Triassic
First Mesozoic period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- archosaurRuling reptile clade member
dinosaurs · Pangea · Gondwana · ammonites · cycads · conifers · ichthyosaur · plesiosaur · mosasaur · Pterodactylus
Pterodactylus
Extinct flying reptile genus
- pterosaurs
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- prehistoric lifedinosaur, dinosaurs, triceratops, Velociraptor, velociraptor
- Prehistoric Reptilesdinosaur, T-Rex, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Spinosaurus
- paleontologydinosaurs, fossil, paleontology, fossil record, dinosaur bones
- archosaursarchosaurs, dinosaurs, dinosaur, birds, bird
pterosaurplesiosaur
Extinct marine reptile
ichthyosaur · mosasaur · marine reptile · dinosaur · sauropod