Pterodactylby Clay Gaieski

•The Pterodactyl lived 251 to 65 million years ago.•The Pterodactyl existed from the late Triassic to the Cretaceous periods.•The first Pterodactyl fossil was described by Italian scientist Cosimo Collini in 1784.

General Information

•At least 60 different types of Pterodactyl have been discovered on every continent, except Antarctica.•The word Pterodactyl means, “winged finger” – In Ancient Greek ptero means wing + dactylos means finger.

General Information - continued

Physical Characteristics•The Pterodactyl had a wing span of 40 feet in length.•The Pterodactyl body grew to up to 60 feet in length.•Some were covered in hair.•Earlier species had long, fully-toothed jaws and long tails.•The “Pteroid” bone was attached to the wrist and pointed to the shoulder which helped support the wing.

Physical Characteristics - Continued

•Their wings were formed by membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues.•Their bones were hollow and filled with air, like bird bones.•Although, first thought to be a swimmer, scientists now believe the Pterodactyl was a flying creature.

Eating•Pterodactyls were carnivores and scavengers.•One of its predators was the Spinosaurus.•When young, the Pterodactyl ate bugs and insects. When they got older, they ate fish from the surface of the water by dipping their beaks in as they flew over.•They also ate dead dinosaurs.

Reproduction

•Very little is known about Pterodactyl reproduction.•One Pterodactyl egg has been found in China. It looked like a lizard egg.•The embryo had well developed wings, which probably means it could fly after it was born.

Fun Facts

•THE PTERODACTYL WAS NOT A DINOSAUR!•The word dinosaur means “upright land reptile.”•Since the Pterodactyl did not stand upright and was not a land reptile, it is not technically a dinosaur.•Competition for food, plus whatever destroyed all the dinosaurs lead to extinction of the Pterodactyl.

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