Banguela
Banguela was a flying reptile that lived about 115 million years ago. It had no teeth, so it probably scooped up fish with its beak. It was not a dinosaur, but a pterosaur, a cousin of dinosaurs.14
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Fun facts
Banguela's lower jaw, called a symphysis, was about 27 centimeters (10.7 inches) long and curved upward. The front edges were sharp, but it had no teeth or tooth sockets.1
Its skull was about 61 centimeters (2 feet) long, and its wingspan was over 3.7 meters (12 feet).1
Banguela is one of the few pterosaurs that completely lost its teeth. Scientists think tooth loss happened at least four separate times among pterosaurs.1
The fossil was first thought to belong to another pterosaur called Thalassodromeus, but in 2015 scientists gave it its own name, Banguela.1
Banguela's toothless beak might have had a horny covering, like a bird's beak, which helped it catch slippery fish.1
Most asked questions about Banguela
?How big was Banguela?
Its skull was about 61 centimeters (24 inches) long and its wingspan was over 3.7 meters (12 feet). It weighed about as much as a small dog or a large goose.13
?Did Banguela have teeth?
No, Banguela had no teeth or tooth sockets. Its name means 'toothless one' in Portuguese.13
?What did Banguela eat?
It probably ate fish, scooping them up with its toothless beak. Its sharp jaw tips were not good for holding food, so it likely swallowed fish whole.3
?Is Banguela a dinosaur?
No, Banguela is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs but is not a dinosaur itself.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Banguela was a dinosaur because it lived with dinosaurs.
Truth: Banguela was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, not a dinosaur. Pterosaurs are a separate group of reptiles.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Banguela
- Named by
- Headden and Campos 20144
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Dsungaripteridae4
- Classification
- Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea4
- Age of the rocks
- 120 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
- Rock formations
- Romualdo4
- Countries
- Brazil4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- A Swiss collector named Urs Oberli bought a jaw fragment from Brazil. In 2005, scientists first described it as Thalassodromeus, but in 2015, Jaime Headden and Hebert Campos named it Banguela oberlii, honoring Oberli.1
- Still debated
- Scientists disagree about Banguela's family. Some say it belongs to Dsungaripteridae, others think it is a species of Thalassodromeus, and some place it in Chaoyangopteridae.1
Where the facts come from
- Banguela (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Meet Banguela | The Bite Stuff (qilong.wordpress.com)
- Banguela 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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