Nyctosaurus

Nyctosaurus, live reconstruction

Nyctosaurus ( " night - lizard" ) was a short-tailed pterosaurs ( Pterodactyloidea ) from the Upper Cretaceous of North America. Fossils of Nyctosaurus were found in the Niobrara Formation in Kansas in the United States, but are much less frequent than that of the related Pteranodon. During the Cretaceous period, the area of a large, shallow sea, the Western Interior Seaway was covered. From the Late Cretaceous of Brazil comes a single, incompletely received ternal humerus of Nyctosaurus is assigned. This Nyctosaurus is the only non- Azhdarchide pterosaur, possibly survived until the end of the Cretaceous.

Features

The type species Nyctosaurus gracilis was an enormously elongated occipital crest. Some scientists assume that this ridge may supported a skin sail that was important for the flight stability when fishing. Nyctosaurus had a wingspan of 2.4 to 2.9 meters. His flight finger was not like the other pterodactyls of four, but only three members. How Pteranodon Nyctosaurus was toothless. His skull reached without bone crest length of 30 cm.

Species

  • Nyctosaurus gracilis, Kansas
  • Nyctosaurus lamegoi, Brazil
  • Nyctosaurus sp. from New Mexico
Maastrichtian Mya (unit) Ornithodira Ornithocheiroidea Genus Samuel Wendell Williston Azhdarchidae Peter Wellnhofer
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