Family
Valid Extinct

Pteranodontidae

(Marsh 1876)

The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North America and possibly other continents including Europe and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head. The spectacularly-crested Nyctosaurus is sometimes included in this family, though usually placed in its own family, the Nyctosauridae.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
15
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Pteranodontidae
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PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
›
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
›
Pteranodontia Unranked clade
›
Pteranodontidae Family
Fossil sites 15 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇲🇦 Morocco
4
🇺🇸 United States
3
🇷🇺 Russia
3
🇧🇷 Brazil
2
🇵🇪 Peru
1
🇦🇺 Australia
1
🇯🇵 Japan
1
Geological formations
Rybushka
3
Romualdo
2
Couche III
2
Chulec
1
Toolebuc
1
Mikasa
1
Niobrara
1
Chico
1
Pierre Shale
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
2
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
5
Coniacian (89.8–85.7 Ma)
1
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
3
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
2
Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)
2
Synonyms (2)
Ornithostomatidae subjective synonym of Pteranodontidae
Ornithostomatinae subjective synonym of Pteranodontidae
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1876. Notice of a new sub-order of Pterosauria. American Journal of Science 11:507-509 DOI ↗
Bibliography (13)
A. O. Averianov and M. S. Arkhangelsky. 2020. A large pteranodontid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Eastern Europe. Geological Magazine DOI ↗
C. Labita and D. M. Martill. 2020. An articulated pterosaur wing from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) phosphates of Morocco. Cretaceous Research DOI ↗
N. R. Longrich, D. M. Martill, and B. Andres. 2018. Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. PLoS Biology 16(3):e2001663:1-38 DOI ↗
A. W. A. Kellner, F. R. Costa, and X. Wang, X. Cheng. 2016. Redescription of the first pterosaur remains from Japan: the largest flying reptile from Asia. Historical Biology 28:304-309 DOI ↗
A. V. Averianov and E. V. Popov. 2014. A pterosaurian vertebra from the Upper Cretaceous of the Saratov Region. Paleontological Journal 48(3):326-329 DOI ↗
N. Ibrahim, D. M. Unwin, and D. M. Martill, L. Baidder, S. Zouhri. 2010. A new pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azharchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco. PLoS One 5(5):e10875 DOI ↗
A. W. A. Kellner. 2010. Comments on the Pteranodontidae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) with a description of two new species. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 82(4):1063-1084 DOI ↗
A. O. Averianov, M. S. Arkhangelsky, and E. M. Pervushov. 2008. A new Late Cretaceous azhdarchid (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from the Volga region. Paleontological Journal 42(6):634-642 DOI ↗
R. E. Molnar and R. A. Thulborn. 2007. An incomplete pterosaur skull from the Cretaceous of north-central Queensland, Australia. Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 65(4):461-470
R. P. Hilton, E. S. Göhre, and P. G. Embree, T. A. Stidham. 1999. California's first fossil evidence of Cretaceous winged vertebrates. California Geology 52(4):4-10
S. C. Bennett. 1989. A pteranodontid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Peru, with comments on the relationships of Cretaceous pterosaurs. Journal of Paleontology 63(5):669-677 DOI ↗
P. Wellnhofer. 1985. Neue Pterosaurier aus der Santana-Formation (Apt) der Chapada do Araripe, Brasilien. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 187:105-182
P. H. Buisonjé. 1980. Santanadactylus brasilensis nov. gen., nov. sp., a long-necked, large pterosaurier from the Aptian of Brasil. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, B 83:145-172