Genus
Valid Extinct

Anurognathus

Döderlein 1923
Etymology Mâchoire sans queue

Anurognathus is an extinct genus of small pterosaur from the Late Jurassic Altmühltal Formation of Germany. Anurognathus was first named and described by Ludwig Döderlein in 1923. The type species is Anurognathus ammoni. The specific name ammoni honours the Bavarian geologist Ludwig von Ammon, from whose collection Döderlein had acquired the fossil in 1922.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Anurognathus
click to enlarge
Photo of a specimen belonging to the anurognathid pterosaur Anurognathus © Dean Falk Schnabel · CC0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
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Macronychoptera Unranked clade
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Novialoidea Unranked clade
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Lonchognatha Unranked clade
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Monofenestrata Unranked clade
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Caelidracones Unranked clade
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Anurognathidae Family
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Anurognathus Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇩🇪 Germany
1
Geological formations
Solnhofener Plattenkalk
1
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Anurognathus ammoni 149 Ma
News 1
Anurognathus: Beast of the Week
Anurognathus: Beast of the Week
Germany Jurassic Late Jurassic Anurognathus Pterosauria +1
This week we will be checking out a unique little pterosaur, Anurognathus ammoni!  Anurognathus lived in what is now Germany during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago.  It was tiny, sporting a 14 inch (35.5 cm) wingspan, and would have likely eaten insects.  It's genus name translates to "Frog Jaw" since its skull was similar looking to a frog's, being extremely blunt with a wide mouth.  Watercolor reconstruction of Anurognathus ammoni by Christopher DiPiazza.Anurognathus' sku
14/12/2025 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
B. Andres, J. M. Clark, and X. Xu. 2010. A new rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, and the phylogenetic relationships of basal pterosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(1):163-187 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
P. Wellnhofer. 1975. Die Rhamphorhynchoidea (Pterosauria) der Oberjura-Plattenkalke Süddeutschlands, Teil II, Systematische Beschreibung. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 148:132-186