Dino card No. 0391 of 2,027

Chaoyangopterus

Say it: chow-YANG-op-TER-us

Name means: “Chaoyang wing”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Chaoyangopterus was a flying reptile that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous. It had a long, toothless beak and a wingspan about as wide as a small car. It probably swooped down to catch fish from lakes.1 4

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

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Liaoning, China1

Food

Fish4 1

Wingspan

1.85 m1

estimated

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 house cats nose to tail

How big was Chaoyangopterus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Chaoyangopterus had no teeth, just a sharp beak like a bird.1

Its skull was about 27 centimeters (11 inches) long, about the size of a ruler.1

It still had four fingers on each hand, unlike some other pterosaurs that lost fingers.1

Its legs were longer and its wings shorter compared to its relative Nyctosaurus.1

Scientists first thought Chaoyangopterus was a nyctosaurid, but later placed it in its own family, Chaoyangopteridae.1

Some researchers now think Chaoyangopterus might have been an omnivore that walked on the ground like a crane, instead of just eating fish.1 4

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

?How big was Chaoyangopterus?

Its wingspan was about 1.85 metres (6.1 feet). Its skull was about 27 centimetres (11 inches) long.1

?Did Chaoyangopterus have teeth?

No, it had no teeth at all. It had a long, sharp beak like a bird.1

?What did Chaoyangopterus eat?

Scientists first thought it ate fish, but now many think it was an omnivore that walked on the ground like a crane and ate small animals, seeds, fruits, and eggs.1 3

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Chaoyangopterus had teeth like many other pterosaurs.

Truth: Chaoyangopterus was completely toothless, with a beak like a modern bird.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Chaoyangopterus
Named by: Wang and Zhou 20034
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Azhdarchidae4
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea > Azhdarchidae4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
Rock formations: Jiufotang4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Chaoyangopterus was named in 2003 by Chinese paleontologists Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zhonghe. The species name zhangi honors journalist Zhang Wanlian for protecting fossil sites. The skeleton was found in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Chaoyangopterus was a fish-eater or a ground-feeding omnivore, and its exact place in the pterosaur family tree is not settled.1 4

Where the facts come from

Chaoyangopterus (en.wikipedia.org)
TWO NEW PTERODACTYLOID PTEROSAURS FROM THE EARLY CRETACEOUS JIUFOTANG FORMATION OF WESTERN LIAONING,CHINA (vertpala.ac.cn)
Chaoyangopterus - Thomas Henry Huxley Paleozoological Gardens (hpz.zhejiangopterus.org)
Chaoyangopterus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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