Page 109 - Prehistoric Animals

Ter-Ano-Don

Pteranodon

Pteranodon (Toothless wing) is a genus of pterosaur*.
They lived during the late Cretaceous about 90 million to 100
million years ago. The genus Pteranodon is known to contain
many species that include the largest known flying reptiles, like
P. longiceps, with wingspans from around 5 meters to over 6
meters. It was first named by, Othniel Charles Marsh in 1876

Pteranodon wingspan may have been big, however, in
comparison; its body was relatively small; no bigger than a me-
dium sized turkey. It had long hind limbs and although they
looked robust, they were thin and the bones hollow. It had a
long pointing toothless beak; making the North American**
Pteranodon the first toothless pterosaur. To catch and hold its
prey like fish and molluscs, it’s thought it used its beak like a
scoop, similar to that of a modern day pelican. It had a poor
sense of smell, but this was more than compensated for by its
large eyes, giving it excellent vision when searching for prey.

Apart from its long wings, its most striking feature was
the large cress protruding from the back of its head. Not all spe-
cies had this crest but those that did; it came in different shapes
and different lengths. It’s generally accepted that the larger
crests were those of mature males, while the shorter were fe-
males or adolescent males. However, what function this crest
played is unclear. Ideas put forward are that it was a counter
balance for its long beak or it was used in some mating ritual by
the adult males. It’s also thought it may have been decoratively
coloured and used simply for display.

When the first fossils of Pteranodon were found no one
could work out where such a small bird got the power needed to
flap such huge wings and take off into the air. However, as more
fossils were unearth, they showed this small bird was equipped
with a very powerful set of muscles more than adequate to give
it the power to flap its wings and take off into the wind. Once in
the air, Pteranodon would use the air currents to glide swiftly
and gracefully through the sky’s, negating the need for it to flap
its wings. Pteranodon was a natural paraglider, millions of
years before man congratulated himself in discovering paraglid-
ing and claiming it as a brand new form of flight.
* A group or clade of extinct reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having
a bird-like beak and membranous wings supported by the very long fourth digit of
each forelimb. Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved pow-
ered flight.
**Pteranodon is found mostly in North America but there is a small group
found in Europe that seem to have some differences, like teeth in their beaks