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Pterodactylus
Fossil range: Late Jurassic
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Pterodactylus kochi
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Conservation status
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Species
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- P. antiquus (von Soemmering, 1812) (type)
- P. arningi Reck, 1931
- P. cerinensis von Meyer, 1860
- P. grandis Cuvier, 1824
- P. grandipelvis von Meyer, 1860
- P. maximus Reck, 1931
- P. manseli Owen, 1874
- P. micronyx von Meyer, 1852
- P. pleydelli Owen, 1874
- P. suprajurensis Sauvage, 1873
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Synonyms
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- Ornithocephalus von Soemmering, 1812
- Macrotrachelus Giebeld, 1852
- Ptenodracon Lydekker, 1888
- Ornithocephalus antiquus von Soemmering, 1812
- Ornithocephalus brevirostris von Soemmering, 1816–17
- Ptenodracon brevirostris (von Soemmering, 1816–17) Lydekker, 1888
- Pterodactylus brevirostris (von Soemmering, 1816–17) Oken, 1819
- Pterodactylus longirostris Cuvier, 1819
- Macrotrachelus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Giebel, 1852
- Ornithocephalus longirostris (Cuvier, 1819) Ritgen, 1826
- Pterodactylus "suevicus" Oken, 1825 [nomen nudum]
- Pterodactylus crocodilocephaloides Ritgen, 1826
- Pterodactylus nettecephaloides Ritgen, 1826
- Ornithocephalus kochi Wagner, 1837
- Pterodactylus kochi (Wagner, 1837) von Meyer, 1859
- Diopecephalus kochi (Wagner, 1837) Seeley, 1871
- Pterodactylus meyeri Muenster, 1842
- Ornithocephalus meyeri (Muenster, 1842) Wagner, 1851
- Pterodactylus scolopaciceps von Meyer, 1850
- Rhamphorhynchus scolopaciceps (von Meyer, 1850)
- Ornithocephalus redenbacheri Wagner, 1851
- Pterodactylus redenbacheri (Wagner, 1851) Wagner, 1861
- Pterodactylus pulchellus von Meyer, 1861
- Pterodactylus spectabilis von Meyer, 1861
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Pterodactylus (TER-o-DACK-ti-lus) was a pterosaur, with a wingspan of about 50–75 cm (20–30 inches), that lived on lake shores during the Late Jurassic Period. It was a carnivore and probably preyed upon fish and other small animals. Like all pterosaurs, Pterodactylus's wing stretched from its last finger to its torso. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. Fossils have been discovered in Europe and Africa.
The name derives from the Greek words ptero (meaning 'winged') and dactyl (meaning 'finger') and refers to the way in which the wing is supported by one large finger.
The genus was originally named Ptero-dactyle by Georges Cuvier in 1809. In 1812, Soemmering named a specimen of the same species Ornithocephalus antiquus. As the senior name, Cuvier's name had precedence, so the holotype specimen became known as Ptero-dactyle antiquus, which was Latinized to the current name in 1815.
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