Pterodactylus (Latin scientific Pterosauria) was a Pterosaur from late Jurassic Europe. A contemporary of Rhamphorhynchus, it was one of the first pterodactyloid pterosaurs in the world, and its' name is often confused with Pteranodon.
Pterodactylus was a small reptile, hardly larger than a modern pigeon or crow.
It still had teeth, but of a more uniform and smaller size than Rhamphorhynchus. Pterodactylus may have had a crest of skin on its head.
Pterodactylus had almost no tail, unlike Rhamphorhynchus, and it held its neck at an angle, not straightforward, as Rhamphorhynchus did. It was more adapted to moving on land as well, though at its smaller size, it was still vulnerable to dinosaurs and other terrestrial inhabitants.
Both Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus are found in Solnhofen deposits of modern Germany, alongside the ancient bird Archaeopteryx and the small dinosaur Compsognathus.
In Pop Culture[]
- The commonly used and often incorrcet term, Pterodactyl, comes from Pterodactylus.
- Pterodactylus is a carnivore one in the game, Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
- Pterodactylus is one of the available creatures on the IOS application, Jurassic Park: Builder, albeit it is just a slightly smaller, differently-colored version of the Pteranodon. Despite being a carnivore and a pterosaur in the game, they get an enclosure without fences like what the herbivores in the game get.
- Pterodactylus is a VIP pterosaur in Jurassic World: The Game, albeit it looks like a female Pteranodon with a curved beak.
- Pterodactylus appears in the preschool show, Dino Dan.
- Two Pterodactylus appear in first The Land Before Time during Littlefoot's birth. There are two species of Pterodactylus within the series, which the one seen the The Land Before Time during Littlefoot's birth had a crest (P. antiquus), and the sharptooth flyer that grabbed Ducky (P. kochi) in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island.
- In the scrapped Jurassic Park animated series, Tim Murphy was to own a Pterodactylus named "Pterry" that would be perched on his shoulder.