Pterosaur
(teh·ruh·sor)

Meaning of the Name: Winged Finger
Size: 3 feet up to 30 foot wingspan
Weight: 30 lbs up to 550 lbs
Eats: Meat (Carnivore)
Period: Late Jurassic

• Technically the Pterodactylus is not a Dinosaur. Pterodactylus was a flying reptile that lived in the Jurassic Period. It was a member of a larger group of flying reptiles called Pterosaurs. 

• Imagine that your fourth fingers were as long as you are tall, and that you had wings that stretched from the ends of these fingers to your legs! That’s how pterodactyls were built!

• Pterodactylus had a long beak filled with around 90 small, sharp teeth. The rest of its head was small. Unlike earlier pterosaurs, whose tails were long and thin, Pterodactylus had a very short tail.

• Pterodactylus, like other pterosaurs, was capable of ‘flapping flight’. This means that it could power itself through the air by flapping its wings – just like (most) modern birds. This ability set it apart from earlier winged reptiles that could only glide.

• While on the ground, pterodactylus walked on all fours, rather than bouncing around on its hind feet like today’s birds.

• It’s likely that the heads and bodies of some pterosaurs were wholly or partially covered with fur, but it is unknown if this was present in pterodactylus.

• Pterodactylus had a crest on the top of its head. It is thought that this crest grew as the pterodactyl aged, and was a sign of maturity.