Dino card No. 0075 of 2,027

Allkaruen

Say it: al-KAR-wen

Name means: “ancient brain”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly Jurassic to Middle JurassicNot technically a dinosaur

Allkaruen was a small flying reptile that lived about 180 to 168 million years ago. It had a very well-preserved brain case, which helps scientists learn how pterosaur brains evolved.3 1

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

Lived

180 to 169 million years ago3

Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic

Fossils found in

La Lluvia locality, Cañadón Carrizal, Chubut Province, Argentina1

Food

Fish3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Allkaruen's name comes from the Tehuelche words 'all' meaning brain and 'karuen' meaning ancient, so it means 'ancient brain'.1

Its brain case was found uncrushed, which is very rare for pterosaurs, and scientists used CT scans to make a virtual model of its brain.1

Allkaruen had a mix of old and new brain features, which helps fill a gap between early pterosaurs and the later pterodactyloids.1

The fossils were found in a lake deposit, and the species name 'koi' means lake in Tehuelche.1

Allkaruen lived during the Early to Middle Jurassic, about 180 to 168 million years ago.3

Its lower jaw was long with a concave profile, and it had large, separated teeth at the front.1

AI-made picture of Allkaruen — An AI-made picture of how Allkaruen 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 Allkaruen

?Was Allkaruen a dinosaur?

No, Allkaruen was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs but was not a dinosaur.2

?How big was Allkaruen?

Allkaruen was a small pterosaur. Its exact size is not known, but its skull was only a few centimetres long.2

?What did Allkaruen eat?

Scientists are not sure, but its long lower jaw with large front teeth suggests it may have caught fish or other small prey.2

?Where did Allkaruen live?

Allkaruen lived in what is now Argentina, near a lake. Its fossils were found in the Cañadón Asfalto Formation in Chubut Province.2

Ask Rex about Allkaruen

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Allkaruen
Named by: Codorniú et al. 20163
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Breviquartossa3
Classification: Pterosauria3
Age of the rocks: 180 to 169 million years (Toarcian / Bajocian)3
Rock formations: Cañadón Asfalto3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Allkaruen was named by Codorniú and colleagues in 2016, based on fossils found in Argentina. The main specimen includes a braincase, a lower jaw, and neck bones.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating how Allkaruen is related to other pterosaurs, because some of its features are similar to both early and later groups.1

Where the facts come from

A Jurassic pterosaur from Patagonia and the origin of the pterodactyloid neurocranium (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Allkaruen (en.wikipedia.org)
Allkaruen 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.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex