Dino card No. 0454 of 2,027

Cretornis

Say it: kree-TOR-nis

Name means: “chalk bird”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesLate CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Cretornis was a flying reptile that lived about 92 million years ago. It had a wingspan as wide as a bicycle is long and probably ate fish. Its fossils were found in the Czech Republic.1 3

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

Lived

94 to 90 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Zářecká Lhota near Choceň, Czech Republic3 1

Food

Fish3

Wingspan

1.5 to 1.6 m1 2

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 Cretornis compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Cretornis was first thought to be a bird, not a pterosaur. The scientist who named it, Antonín Frič, called it a 'chalk bird' because he thought it was a toothed bird like Ichthyornis.1

The fossils were found by a woman named Mrs. Tomková, who worked at a gambling table in Choceň. She told a local pharmacist, František Hlaváč, about the bones, and he collected them.1

Cretornis is the only pterosaur ever found in the Czech Republic. Its bones come from a sandstone quarry that was being used to get gravel for road repairs.1 2

The upper arm bone (humerus) of Cretornis is only 76 millimeters long, which is about the length of three fingers side by side.1

Scientists are not sure exactly what group of pterosaurs Cretornis belongs to. Some think it is an azhdarchoid, others think it is a nyctosaurid.1 2

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

?How big was Cretornis?

Its wingspan was about 1.5 to 1.6 metres (4.9 to 5.2 feet), which is as wide as a bicycle. Its upper arm bone was only 76 millimetres (3 inches) long.1 2

?What did Cretornis eat?

It probably ate fish, like many other pterosaurs that lived near the sea.1

?Is Cretornis a dinosaur?

No, Cretornis is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived during the time of dinosaurs, but it is not a dinosaur itself.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Cretornis
Named by: Fritsch 18813
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Azhdarchoidea3
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea3
Age of the rocks: 94 to 90 million years (Turonian)3
Rock formations: Jizera3
Countries: Czechia3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Cretornis was named in 1881 by Czech paleontologist Antonín Frič. He first thought the bones were from a bird, but later scientists realized it was a pterosaur.1 3
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Cretornis was an azhdarchoid pterosaur or a nyctosaurid. Its exact place in the pterosaur family tree is not settled.1 2

Where the facts come from

Cretornis (en.wikipedia.org)
Cretornis hlavaci Frič, 1881 from the Upper Cretaceous of Czech Republic (Pterosauria, Azhdarchoidea) - ScienceDirect (sciencedirect.com)
Cretornis 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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