Pterodactylus

Pterodactylus Temporal range: Early Tithonian, 150.8–148.5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Sub-adult type specimen of P. antiquus, Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Clade:	†Euctenochasmatia
Genus:	†Pterodactylus Cuvier, 1809
Type species
†Pterodactylus antiquus Sömmerring, 1812
Species
†P. antiquus (Sömmerring, 1812) †P. kochi? (Wagner, 1837) †P. scolopaciceps? (Meyer, 1860)
Synonyms
Genus synonymy Ornithocephalus Sömmering, 1812 Pterotherium Fischer, 1813[1] Macrotrachelus Giebel, 1852 Diopecephalus? Seeley, 1871 Aerodactylus? Vidovic & Martill, 2014 Species synonymy Ornithocephalus antiquus Sömmering, 1812 Pterodactylus longirostris Cuvier, 1819 Ornithocephalus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Macrotrachelus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Pterodactylus crocodilocephaloides Ritgen, 1826 Ornithocephalus kochi? Wagner, 1837 Diopecephalus kochi? (Wagner, 1837) Pterodactylus spectabilis Meyer, 1861 Pterodactylus westmani Wiman, 1925 Pterodactylus cormoranus Döderlein, 1929 Aerodactylus scolopaciceps (Meyer, 1860)

Pterodactylus (from Ancient Greek πτεροδάκτυλος (pterodáktylos) 'winged finger'^[2]) is a genus of extinct pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehistoric reptiles to ever be discovered.

Fossil remains of Pterodactylus have primarily been found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, which dates from the Late Jurassic period (Tithonian stage), about 150.8 to 148.5 million years ago. More fragmentary remains of Pterodactylus have tentatively been identified from elsewhere in Europe and in Africa.^[3]

Pterodactylus was a generalist carnivore that probably fed on a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. Like all pterosaurs, Pterodactylus had wings formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. Pterodactylus was a small pterosaur compared to other famous genera such as Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus, and it also lived earlier, during the Late Jurassic period, while both Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus lived during the Late Cretaceous. Pterodactylus lived alongside other small pterosaurs such as the well-known Rhamphorhynchus, as well as other genera such as Scaphognathus, Anurognathus and Ctenochasma. Pterodactylus is classified as an early-branching member of the ctenochasmatid lineage, within the pterosaur clade Pterodactyloidea.^[4][5]