Aerodactylus

Not to be confused with Aetodactylus or Aerodactyl.

Aerodactylus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
150.8–148.5 Ma
↓
Type specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Pterosauria
Suborder: †Pterodactyloidea
Clade: †Aurorazhdarchia
Genus: †Aerodactylus
Vidovic & Martill, 2014
Type species
†Pterodactylus scolopaciceps
Meyer, 1860
Species
  • †A. scolopaciceps
    (Meyer, 1860)
Synonyms

Aerodactylus (meaning "wind finger") is a pterosaur genus containing a single species, Aerodactylus scolopaciceps, previously regarded as a species of Pterodactylus.

The fossil remains of this species have been found only in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, dated to the late Jurassic Period (early Tithonian), about 150.8–148.5 million years ago.[1] Like all pterosaurs, the wings of Aerodactylus were 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. Several well preserved fossils have shown that Aerodactylus was covered in a short, dense coat of bristly pycnofibres, and that it had a rounded triangular crest on its head, as well as a backward-pointing lappet. It is named after the pterosaur-like Pokémon Aerodactyl.[2] The validity of Aerodactylus has been disputed, with some pterosaur experts suggesting that none of the specimens referred to this genus are distinguishable from Pterodactylus.[3]

  1. ^ Schweigert, G. (2007). "Ammonite biostratigraphy as a tool for dating Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones from South Germany – first results and open questions" (PDF). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 245 (1): 117–125. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0245-0117.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference aerodactylus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bennett, S. Christopher (2018). "New smallest specimen of the pterosaur Pteranodon and ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs". Journal of Paleontology. 92 (2): 254–271. doi:10.1017/jpa.2017.84. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 90893067.