Dinosaurs Codexery

Pteranodon

The toothless giant of the Cretaceous skies

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Pteranodon

Matt Martyniuk · via Wikipedia: Pteranodon · CC BY 3.0

The pterosaur genus Pteranodon includes some of the largest flying reptiles ever known; for instance, P. longiceps achieved a wingspan exceeding 6 m.[1] Roughly 1,200 Pteranodon fossils have been uncovered, making it the pterosaur with the most known specimens.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassReptilia
  4. Order†Pterosauria
  5. Suborder†Pterodactyloidea
  6. Clade†Pteranodontoidea
  7. Family†Pteranodontidae
  8. Genus†Pteranodon

Named by Marsh, 1876

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Pteranodon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Type species
Pteranodon longiceps

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

Pteranodon was the first pterosaur found outside of Europe.[3] Adult male Pteranodon were among the largest pterosaurs, and were the largest flying animals known until the late 20th century.[4] The diet of Pteranodon is known to have included fish.[5] Pteranodon* possessed a beak lacking teeth, a trait that distinguishes it from earlier pterosaurs like Rhamphorhynchus and Pterodactylus and that resembles the beaks of birds.[6]

The cranial crest is the feature that most strongly sets Pteranodon apart.[7] A typical adult male Pteranodon had a wingspan measuring 5.6 m.[4] Based on its wing shape, Pteranodon likely flew in a manner similar to that of a modern albatross.[8]

What the specialist sources record

Because of the distinctive beak shape in one specimen, Alexander Kellner in 2010 placed it into a separate genus, which he named Dawndraco.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Creisler, "Pterosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide", www.dinosauria.com, 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ehret, "Feeding traces on a Pteranodon (Reptilia: Pterosauria) bone from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Mooreville Chalk in Alabama, USA", PALAIOS, 2018, p. 414–418 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bennett, S.C., "Taxonomy and systematics of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloida)", Occasional Papers of the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, 1994, p. 1–70; Witton, "Pteranodon and beyond: The history of giant pterosaurs from 1870 onwards", Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2010, p. 313–323 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bennett, "The Pterosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk", The Earth Scientist, 1994, p. 22–25; Bennett, "The Pterosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk", The Earth Scientist, 1994, p. 22–25; Bennett, S.C., "The osteology and functional morphology of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon. General description of osteology", Palaeontographica, Abteilung A, 2001, p. 1–112; "A review and reappraisal of the specific gravities of present and past multicellular organisms, with an emphasis on tetrapods", The Anatomical Record, 2021, p. 1833–1888; Paul, "The Princeto en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bennett, "The Pterosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk", The Earth Scientist, 1994, p. 22–25; Bennett, S.C., "The osteology and functional morphology of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon. General description of osteology", Palaeontographica, Abteilung A, 2001, p. 1–112 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kellner, A.W.A., "Comments on the Pteranodontidae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) with the description of two new species", Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2010, p. 1063–1084 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bennett, S.C. (2000). "Inferring stratigraphic position of fossil vertebrates from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas." Current Research in Earth Sciences: Ka; Bennett, S.C., "Taxonomy and systematics of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloida)", Occasional Papers of the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, 1994, p. 1–70; Bennett, S.C., "Sexual dimorphism of Pteranodon and other pterosaurs, with comments on cranial crests", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1992, p. 422–434 (we also read that sourc en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Pteranodon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Padian, K., "A functional analysis of flying and walking in pterosaurs", Paleobiology, 1983, p. 218–239; Witton, "On the Size and Flight Diversity of Giant Pterosaurs, the Use of Birds as Pterosaur Analogues and Comments on Pterosaur Flightlessness", PLOS ONE, 2010; Goto, "How did extinct giant birds and pterosaurs fly? A comprehensive modeling approach to evaluate soaring performance", PNAS Nexus, 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pteranodon (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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