What is Pterodactylus?
{{Taxobox | color = lightblue | name = ''Pterodactylus'' | fossil_range = [[Upper Jurassic]] | image = Pterodactylus-kochi_NYC.jpg | image_width = 230px | image_caption = ''Pterodactylus kochi'' | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Sauropsid]]a | ordo = [[Pterosauria]] | subordo = [[Pterodactyloidea]] | familia = [[Pterodactylidae]] | genus = '''''Pterodactylus''''' | genus_authority = [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], [[1809]] | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = }} {{italictitle}} '''''Pterodactylus''''' (Pterodactylus Antiquus) was a small [[pterosaur]]. It lived in the later [[Jurassic]] period, at the same time as many [[dinosaur]]s. ''Pterodactylus'' is typical of the short-tailed pterosaurs. The sub-order continued to the end of the [[Cretaceous]], but ''Pterodactylus'' is only known from the latest Jurassic. The first specimens were found at [[Solnhofen limestone|Solnhofen]] in [[Bavaria]], [[Germany]]. Also found in these strata was the famous ''[[Archaeopteryx]]''. These [[carbonate]] [[strata]] formed in warm [[lagoon]]s. ''Pterodactylus'' may have lived on small islands in the lagoon, or on the coast. Perhaps it lived further inland and was blown here in a storm. The high salinity would support little life, so the pterosaurs would have fed in some other area. [[Image:Ctenochasma_elegans_1.jpg|thumb|230px|''Pterodactylus'' - [[American Museum of Natural History]].]] [[File:Pterodactylus holotype fly mmartyniuk.png|thumb|right|upright|300px|Life restoration of the first scientifically studied pterosaur, ''Pterodactylus'']] The first specimen was found in the 18th century, and a description published in 1784. Later, [[Georges Cuvier]] worked out that it was a flying reptile. A juvenile pterosaur came to light in 1817, and showed clearly that Cuvier had been right. Now, 30 specimens of the [[genus]] are known. [[Category:Pterosaurs]]