Pteranodon
Pteranodon (; from Greek πτερόν ( pteron, "wing") and ἀνόδων (anodon, "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with wingspans over 8 meters (26 feet). They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. More fossil specimens of "Pteranodon" have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway.
Pterosaur
While the generic term "pterodactyl" is often used to describe these creatures, the animals depicted frequently represent either "Pteranodon" or "Rhamphorhynchus", or a fictionalized hybrid of the two. Many children's toys and cartoons feature "pterodactyls" with "Pteranodon"-like crests and long, "Rhamphorhynchus"-like tails and teeth, a combination that never existed in nature. However, at least one type of pterosaur "did" have the "Pteranodon"-like crest and teeth—for example, the "Ludodactylus", a name that means "toy finger" for its resemblance to old, inaccurate children's toys. Also, some depictions of pterosaurs incorrectly identify them as "birds", when in real life they were flying reptiles, and birds are actually theropod dinosaurs.