Dino card No. 0161 of 2,027

Ardeadactylus

Say it: ar-DEE-uh-DAK-tih-lus

Name means: “heron finger”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesLate JurassicNot technically a dinosaur

Ardeadactylus was a pterosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic period, about 152 million years ago. It had a long neck and long legs, like a heron, and probably ate fish. It flew over the warm seas of what is now Germany.1

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

Lived

152 to 145 million years ago4

Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Bavaria, southern Germany1 2

Food

Fish1 2

Wingspan

1.45 to 1.6 m1

estimated for the neotype and a slightly larger referred specimen

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How wide were its wings?

as long as 3 house cats nose to tail

How big was Ardeadactylus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Ardeadactylus had only 15 teeth in each jaw, fewer than its relative Pterodactylus, and those teeth were larger.1

Its name comes from Ardea, which means 'heron', because scientists think it looked like a heron with its long neck and legs.1

Only two fossils of Ardeadactylus are known today. One is kept at the Jura Museum in Eichstätt, Germany.1

The first fossil of Ardeadactylus was found in 1853 near Eichstätt, but it was destroyed during World War II.1

Ardeadactylus lived in the Late Jurassic, about 152 to 145 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages.2

Scientists think Ardeadactylus may have hunted larger fish than its cousin Pterodactylus, because its teeth were bigger.1

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

?How big was Ardeadactylus?

Its wingspan was about 1.45 metres (4.8 feet), and one specimen was about 1.6 metres (5.2 feet).1

?What did Ardeadactylus eat?

It ate fish. It had larger teeth than its relative Pterodactylus, so it probably hunted bigger fish.1

?Is Ardeadactylus a dinosaur?

No, it is a pterosaur, which is a flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs but is not a dinosaur.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Ardeadactylus
Named by: Bennett 20134
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Pterodactyloidea4
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea4
Age of the rocks: 152 to 145 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)4
Rock formations: Liegende Bankkalk, Solnhofen4
Countries: Germany4
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Ardeadactylus was first named as a species of Pterodactylus in 1854 by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer. In 2013, scientist S. Christopher Bennett gave it its own genus, Ardeadactylus.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Ardeadactylus is related to other pterosaurs. Some studies place it in the group Aurorazhdarchidae, but others disagree.1

Where the facts come from

Ardeadactylus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Ardeadactylus longicollum, new pterosaur; Pterodactylus revised (dml.reptilis.net)
Ardeadactylus 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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