Pteranodon

Pteranodon; Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Santonian), Possible Late Campanian record
	Mounted replica of an adult male P. longiceps skeleton, American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Family:	†Pteranodontidae
Subfamily:	†Pteranodontinae
Genus:	†Pteranodon; Marsh, 1876
Type species
	†Pteranodon longiceps; Marsh, 1876
Other species
	P. sternbergi? (Miller, 1978);
Synonyms
	Occidentalia Miller, 1972; Geosternbergia? Miller, 1978; Longicepia Miller, 1978; Dawndraco? Kellner, 2010;

Pteranodon (/təˈrænədɒn/); from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pteron 'wing') and ἀνόδων (anodous, anodontos 'toothless')^[1] is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with P. longiceps having a wingspan of over 6 m (20 ft). They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama.^[2] More fossil specimens of Pteranodon have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway.^[3]

Pteranodon is the most famous pterosaur, frequently featured in dinosaur media and strongly associated with dinosaurs by the general public.^[4] While not dinosaurs, pterosaurs such as Pteranodon form a clade closely related to dinosaurs as both fall within the clade Avemetatarsalia.

^ Colbert, Edwin H. (Edwin Harris); Knight, Charles Robert (1951). The dinosaur book: the ruling reptiles and their relatives. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 153.
^ Ehret, D.J.; Harrell, T.L. Jr. (2018). "Feeding traces on a Pteranodon (Reptilia: Pterosauria) bone from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Mooreville Chalk in Alabama, USA". PALAIOS. 33 (9): 414–418. Bibcode:2018Palai..33..414E. doi:10.2110/palo.2018.024. S2CID 135332458.
^ Cite error: The named reference bennett2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference bennett1994niobrara was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Colbert, Edwin H. (Edwin Harris); Knight, Charles Robert (1951). The dinosaur book: the ruling reptiles and their relatives. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 153.

[2] Ehret, D.J.; Harrell, T.L. Jr. (2018). "Feeding traces on a Pteranodon (Reptilia: Pterosauria) bone from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Mooreville Chalk in Alabama, USA". PALAIOS. 33 (9): 414–418. Bibcode:2018Palai..33..414E. doi:10.2110/palo.2018.024. S2CID 135332458.

[bennett2000-3] Cite error: The named reference bennett2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[bennett1994niobrara-4] Cite error: The named reference bennett1994niobrara was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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Pteranodon Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Santonian), Possible Late Campanian record

Mounted replica of an adult male P. longiceps skeleton, American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Family:	†Pteranodontidae
Subfamily:	†Pteranodontinae
Genus:	†Pteranodon Marsh, 1876
Type species
†Pteranodon longiceps Marsh, 1876
Other species
P. sternbergi? (Miller, 1978)
Synonyms
Occidentalia Miller, 1972 Geosternbergia? Miller, 1978 Longicepia Miller, 1978 Dawndraco? Kellner, 2010