Ludodactylus
Ludodactylus was a flying reptile with a big head crest and lots of teeth. It lived about 112 million years ago in what is now Brazil. One fossil even has a yucca leaf stuck in its beak!14
When did it live?
How big was it?
How wide were its wings?
How big was Ludodactylus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Ludodactylus means 'play finger' because it looked like toy pterosaurs that had both teeth and a head crest, which real scientists thought didn't exist until this fossil was found.1
Its skull was more than 66 centimeters (26 inches) long.1
The only known fossil is a skull with a yucca leaf stuck between its lower jaws. Scientists think the pterosaur got the leaf caught in its beak and maybe died from starvation.1
Ludodactylus had a crest on the back of its skull but no crest on its snout, unlike many other pterosaurs.1
The species name L. sibbicki honors paleoartist John Sibbick.1
Most asked questions about Ludodactylus
?How big was Ludodactylus?
Its wingspan was about 4 meters (13 feet), and its skull was more than 66 centimeters (26 inches) long.13
?What did Ludodactylus eat?
It ate fish, like many other pterosaurs of its time.3
?Did Ludodactylus have a crest?
Yes, it had a crest on the back of its skull, but no crest on its snout.1
?Is Ludodactylus a dinosaur?
No, it is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived during the time of dinosaurs but is not a dinosaur itself.1
Ask Rex about Ludodactylus
Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Ludodactylus is the same as Brasileodactylus.
Truth: Scientists now agree Ludodactylus is a different genus, closely related to anhanguerid pterosaurs like Caulkicephalus.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Ludodactylus
- Named by
- Frey et al. 20034
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Ornithocheiroidea4
- Classification
- Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea4
- Age of the rocks
- 120 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
- Rock formations
- Crato4
- Countries
- Brazil4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Ludodactylus was named by Eberhard Frey and colleagues in 2003 based on a skull found in the Crato Formation of Brazil. The fossil was illegally sold and missing part of the head crest.14
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Ludodactylus belongs to the family Anhangueridae or is just outside it, because different studies place it in slightly different groups.1
Where the facts come from
- Ludodactylus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Ludodactylus — Pteros (pteros.com)
- Ludodactylus 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.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Pteranodon
Quetzalcoatlus
Dorygnathus
Rhamphorhynchus
Anhanguera
Pterodactylus
Stegosaurus
Iguanodon
Archaeopteryx
Giganotosaurus
Microraptor
Deinonychus