How did pterodactyl get its name?

How did pterodactyl get its name?

Pterodactylus comes from the Greek word pterodaktulos, meaning “winged finger,” which is an apt description of its flying apparatus.

What is pterosaur meaning?

flying reptiles
Definition of pterosaur : any of an order (Pterosauria) of extinct flying reptiles existing from the Late Triassic throughout the Jurassic and most of the Cretaceous and having a featherless wing membrane extending from the side of the body along the arm to the end of the greatly elongated fourth digit.

What does Ptero mean in pterodactyl?

wing
Fun fact: pterodactyls were not technically dinosaurs! We know ptero- means “wing,” so what is the -dactyl portion of the word? It comes from the Greek dáktylos, meaning “finger.” So, pterodactyl literally means “winged finger.”

What kind of word is pterodactyl?

Any of various small, mostly tailless, extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria that existed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

How big is a pterosaur?

Pterosaur Lifeways They ranged from pigeon-sized with a wingspan of 18 inches to ultralight-airplane-sized Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan of 36–39 feet. Exceptionally well-preserved fossils have shown that pterosaurs were covered with hair. Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to adapt to a life of active flight.

Where do pterosaurs live?

Where did they live? They lived in coastal areas, estuaries and on the shores of lakes. Nearly all pterosaur fossils have been found near ancient seas and lakes. Because they were so clumsy on the ground, they would have used cliffs and islands as places to lay their eggs.

How do you say flying dinosaur?

That fierce winged creature swooping down on you is a pterodactyl, a flying reptile. The word pterodactyl, pronounced “tear-uh-DACK-til,” refers to a now-extinct group of winged reptiles known as pterosaurs.

How do you say the word pterodactyl?

The word pterodactyl, pronounced “tear-uh-DACK-til,” refers to a now-extinct group of winged reptiles known as pterosaurs.

What is the etymology of the word pterodactyl?

extinct flying reptile, 1830, from French ptérodactyle (1821), from Modern Latin genus name Pterodactylus, from Greek pteron “wing” (from PIE root *pet- “to rush, to fly”) + daktylos “finger” (see dactyl ).

What is the classification of the Pterodactylus?

Pterodactylus lived alongside other small pterosaurs such as the well-known Rhamphorhynchus, as well as other genera such as Scaphognathus, Anurognathus and Ctenochasma. Pterodactylus is classified as an early-branching member of the ctenochasmatid lineage, within the pterosaur clade Pterodactyloidea.

Is Ornithocephalus antiquus the same as Pterodactylus?

In 1888, English naturalist Richard Lydekker designated Pterodactylus antiquus as the type species of Pterodactylus, and considered Ornithocephalus antiquus a synonym. He also designated specimen BSP AS.I.739 as the holotype of the genus.

How did Pterodactylus cuvieri get its name?

Bowerbank had assigned fossil remains to two new species; the first was named in 1846 as Pterodactylus giganteus; the specific name means ‘the gigantic one’ in Latin, in reference to the large size of the remains, and the second species was named in 1851 as Pterodactylus cuvieri, in honor of the French scientist Georges Cuvier.