About Flying Reptiles
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived during the same broad era as dinosaurs, but they were not dinosaurs. They were close relatives within the larger archosaur family tree and became the first vertebrates known to evolve powered flight.
Not Dinosaurs
Pterosaurs and dinosaurs were different branches of the archosaur family tree.
Learn MoreFirst Flying Vertebrates
Pterosaurs evolved powered flight long before birds or bats.
Learn MorePteranodon
Pteranodon was a large Late Cretaceous pterosaur from North America.
Learn MoreCrests and Display
Many pterosaurs had dramatic head crests.
Learn MoreDifferent Diets
Pterosaurs evolved many feeding styles.
Learn MoreWalking on Land
Pterosaurs were capable of moving on the ground.
Learn MorePterosaur Fossils
Their thin-walled bones were light but fragile.
Learn MorePterosaur Extinction
Pterosaurs disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous.
Learn MoreNot Dinosaurs
Both groups shared ancient ancestors, but true dinosaurs had a distinctive upright hip and limb arrangement and belonged to Dinosauria. Pterosaurs formed their own group, Pterosauria.
First Flying Vertebrates
The oldest known pterosaurs lived in the Late Triassic. Their wings were made of skin and other tissues stretched mainly along an extremely elongated fourth finger.
Pteranodon
It had a long toothless beak and a large head crest. Some individuals had wingspans greater than six meters. Fossils are especially well known from rocks deposited by the Western Interior Seaway.
Crests and Display
Crests came in different sizes and shapes and may have been used in display, species recognition, or aerodynamics. Fossils of soft tissues show that some crests included structures beyond the bone.
Different Diets
Some had long jaws and sharp teeth for catching fish or small animals, while others had toothless beaks. Their fossils come from marine coasts, inland lakes, deserts, and other environments.
Walking on Land
Trackways and anatomy show that many pterosaurs walked on all four limbs, placing their wing fingers clear of the ground. Their unusual forelimbs were important both in flight and on land.
Pterosaur Fossils
Because delicate bones are easily destroyed, complete pterosaur fossils are less common than many dinosaur fossils. Exceptional fossil sites sometimes preserve wing membranes, crests, and other soft tissues.
Pterosaur Extinction
They survived for more than 150 million years and included small species as well as giant forms. None survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, while several bird lineages did.