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Cryodrakon

Say it: KRY-oh-DRAK-on

Name means: “cold dragon”5

Ate: FishFlying reptilesLate CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Cryodrakon was a huge flying reptile that soared over Canada about 76 million years ago. It was not a dinosaur, but a pterosaur with a wingspan as wide as a small airplane. This cold dragon ruled the skies and snatched fish from ancient rivers.5 1

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

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada, in the Dinosaur Park Formation5 1

Food

Fish1

Wingspan

10 m3 2

most commonly estimated for adult

Weight

150 kg to 544 kg2

range of estimates from different sources

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How wide were its wings?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 18 big dogs

wings as wide as 2 cars in a rowas heavy as 110 watermelons

How big was Cryodrakon compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Cryodrakon was first described in 2019, making it a very recently discovered pterosaur.5

It lived during the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous, between 83.6 and 72.2 million years ago.1

The type specimen of Cryodrakon is a set of postcranial bones, meaning skull and jaws are not yet known.5

Cryodrakon belonged to a group called Azhdarchidae, which includes some of the largest flying animals ever.1

Its fossils come from two locations in Alberta, Canada, both from the same rock formation.5

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

?How big was Cryodrakon?

Adult Cryodrakon had a wingspan of about 10 metres (33 feet), as wide as a small airplane. Younger individuals were smaller, with wingspans around 5 metres (16 feet).2 4

?What did Cryodrakon eat?

Cryodrakon was a carnivore that likely ate small animals like fish, amphibians, reptiles, and maybe small dinosaurs. It had a toothless, chopstick-like beak and probably swallowed its prey whole, similar to a giant stork.2

?When did Cryodrakon live?

Cryodrakon lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.7 to 74.3 million years ago.4

?Where was Cryodrakon found?

Cryodrakon fossils were discovered in Alberta, Canada, in the Dinosaur Park Formation. The first bones were found in 1972, and the most complete skeleton was uncovered in 1992.2 4

?Is Cryodrakon a dinosaur?

No, Cryodrakon is not a dinosaur. It is a pterosaur, a type of flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.2 4

?Why is it called Cryodrakon?

The name Cryodrakon means cold dragon in Ancient Greek. It is a nod to its Canadian home.2 4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Cryodrakon
Named by: Hone et al. 20195
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Azhdarchidae5
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea > Azhdarchidae5
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)5
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park5
Countries: Canada5
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Cryodrakon was named and described by scientists David Hone, Michael Habib, and Francois Therrien in 2019, based on fossils found in Alberta, Canada.5 1
Still debated: Because the skull and jaws have not been found, scientists are not sure of the exact shape of Cryodrakon's head or how it captured prey.5

Where the facts come from

PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Cryodrakon | The Canadian Encyclopedia (thecanadianencyclopedia.ca)
Cryodrakon (en.wikipedia.org)
Cryodrakon (en.wikipedia.org)
Cryodrakon 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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