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Anhanguera

Say it: an-YAN-gweh-rah

Name means: “old spirit”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly Cretaceous to Late CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Anhanguera was a flying reptile that soared over ancient seas. It had a long, toothy beak and a wingspan as wide as a car. It was not a dinosaur, but a pterosaur, a close cousin of dinosaurs.1

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

Lived

137 to 94 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Brazil, Morocco, Australia, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Egypt1 4

Food

Fish1 4

Length

2 m2

total body length from skull tip to tail end

Wingspan

4.6 m1

Weight

6.5 kg to 30 kg2

range from 3D slicing (6.5 kg for 4.1 m wingspan) to regression/loading models (12, 30 kg)

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 8 house cats

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 11 bananas end to endas heavy as 6 watermelons

How big was Anhanguera compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Anhanguera had a crest on the front of its upper jaw, but it was set farther back on the skull than in its close relatives Coloborhynchus and Ornithocheirus.1

Some Anhanguera fossils have a small, blunt crest at the back of the skull, similar to other pteranodontoids.1

A study in 2003 showed that Anhanguera likely held its head at an angle to the ground, based on its inner ear structure, which helped it keep its balance.1

Anhanguera had bony rings in its eye sockets called scleral rings, which may have supported its eyes, similar to modern birds.1

The name Anhanguera comes from the Tupi language and means 'old spirit' or 'spirit protector of the animals'.1

Anhanguera lived during the Early to Late Cretaceous, from about 112 to 93 million years ago.1

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

?How big was Anhanguera?

Anhanguera had a wingspan of about 4.6 meters (15 ft).1

?What did Anhanguera eat?

Anhanguera ate fish. It had sharp, curved teeth to pierce and grip slippery fish.1 3

?Why did Anhanguera have a crest?

Scientists aren't sure. It might have been for display to attract mates or show off, or it might have helped the animal eat.3

?Could Anhanguera fly?

Yes, Anhanguera was a flying reptile. It had thin, light bones to save weight and a large brain area for coordinating flight, similar to birds.3

?When did Anhanguera live?

Anhanguera lived during the Early to Late Cretaceous, from about 112 to 93 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Anhanguera
Named by: Campos and Kellner 19854
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Ornithocheiroidea4
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea4
Age of the rocks: 137 to 94 million years (Valanginian / Cenomanian)4
Rock formations: Romualdo, West Melbury Marly Chalk, Toolebuc4
Countries: Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia, Morocco, Egypt, Colombia4
Fossil records: 18 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Anhanguera was named in 1985 by Brazilian paleontologists Diogenes de Almeida Campos and Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, based on a complete skull found in the Romualdo Formation of Brazil.1 4
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether the crests on the jaws were present in all Anhanguera individuals or only in some, possibly depending on age or sex.1

Where the facts come from

Anhanguera (pterosaur) (en.wikipedia.org)
_Anhanguera_ (pterosaur) — Grokipedia (grokipedia.com)
Watch a pterosaur fly | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Anhanguera 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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