Dino card No. 0035 of 2,027

Aerotitan

Say it: AIR-oh-TIE-tan

Name means: “air titan”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesLate CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Aerotitan was a giant flying reptile that soared over South America about 70 million years ago. It was not a dinosaur, but a pterosaur, a close cousin of dinosaurs. With a wingspan of at least 5 metres, it was one of the biggest animals ever to fly.1

Fun fact: pterosaurs flew over the dinosaurs, but they were their cousins, not dinosaurs themselves.

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Argentina, in the Allen Formation of Patagonia1 2

Food

Fish2 1

Wingspan

5 m1

at least

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How wide were its wings?

wings as wide as 3 bicycles in a row

How big was Aerotitan compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Aerotitan was the first azhdarchid pterosaur ever found in South America. Azhdarchids were a group of huge, long-necked flying reptiles.1

The only known fossil of Aerotitan is a piece of its snout, about 26 centimetres long. From this small piece, scientists estimated its wingspan.1

Aerotitan had no teeth. Its jaws were long and narrow, perfect for snapping up slippery fish.1

Scientists used to think the fossil was an upper jaw, but a 2021 study showed it was actually a lower jaw. This changed how they picture the animal.3

Aerotitan's closest known relative might be Mistralazhdarcho from France. They share many features in their jaw tips.1 3

Aerotitan lived near the sea, and its fossils were found in marine rocks. It probably flew over the ocean hunting for food.2

AI-made picture of Aerotitan — An AI-made picture of how Aerotitan might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Aerotitan

?How big was Aerotitan?

Aerotitan had a wingspan of at least 5 metres (16 feet), making it one of the largest flying animals of its time.1

?Was Aerotitan a dinosaur?

No, Aerotitan was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that is a close cousin of dinosaurs, not a dinosaur itself.1

?What did Aerotitan eat?

Aerotitan had no teeth and long, narrow jaws, which scientists think were perfect for catching fish while flying over the sea.1

?When did Aerotitan live?

Aerotitan lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.1

?Where was Aerotitan found?

Aerotitan was found in the Allen Formation in Patagonia, Argentina, in rocks that were formed near the sea.1

?Why is Aerotitan called Aerotitan?

The name combines the Greek word for air, 'aer', and Titan, because it was a large flying reptile.1

Ask Rex about Aerotitan

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Myth buster

Myth: Aerotitan was a dinosaur.

Truth: Aerotitan was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs but was not one of them.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Aerotitan
Named by: Novas et al. 20124
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Azhdarchidae4
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea > Azhdarchidae4
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
Rock formations: Allen4
Countries: Argentina4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Aerotitan was named in 2012 by Fernando Novas and colleagues. They described it from a partial snout found in the Allen Formation in Patagonia, Argentina.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Aerotitan was an azhdarchid or a thalassodromid, because the only fossil is a jaw tip. Some studies say it was an azhdarchid, others say it was a thalassodromid.1 3

Where the facts come from

Aerotitan (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy - ScienceDirect (sciencedirect.com)
Aerotitan in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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