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Ornithocheirus

Say it: OR-nith-oh-KY-rus

Name means: “bird hand”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly Cretaceous to Late CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Ornithocheirus was a flying reptile that lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 110 million years ago. It had a long, narrow beak with a bumpy crest on top and sharp teeth for catching fish. Even though it was not a dinosaur, it was one of the biggest flying animals of its time.1

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

Lived

133 to 90 million years ago5

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

United Kingdom (England) and possibly Morocco1 2

Food

Fish2 1

Length

2.5 m4

body length estimate

Wingspan

4.5 to 6.1 m1

estimate

Weight

20 kg to 45 kg1 4

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 11 house cats

as long as 2.5 dogs nose to tailas long as 14 bananas end to endas heavy as 9 watermelons

How big was Ornithocheirus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Ornithocheirus means 'bird hand' because scientists first thought its wing bones looked like a bird's hand.1

Only one species is considered valid today: Ornithocheirus simus. Many other fossils once called Ornithocheirus are now placed in different genera.1

Its fossils were found in the Cambridge Greensand of England, a layer of rock that was once a sandy seabed about 110 million years old.1

Ornithocheirus had a keel-shaped crest on its snout, which may have been used for display or to help it steer in flight.1

Its teeth were mostly straight up and down, not angled outward like those of some of its relatives.1

Early paleontologists like Richard Owen argued about its name. Owen preferred Criorhynchus ('ram beak') because he did not like the idea of evolution.1

Some fossils once thought to be birds, like Cimoliornis and Palaeornis, turned out to be Ornithocheirus or its relatives.1

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

?How big was Ornithocheirus?

It was a medium-sized pterosaur with a wingspan of about 5 metres (16 feet) and a body mass of about 20 kilograms (44 pounds).1

?Was Ornithocheirus a dinosaur?

No, Ornithocheirus was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, not a dinosaur.1

?What did Ornithocheirus eat?

It ate fish, which it caught with its sharp teeth while flying over the sea.1

?When did Ornithocheirus live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago.1

?Where was Ornithocheirus found?

Its fossils were found in the Cambridge Greensand of England, and possibly also in Morocco.1

?Why did Ornithocheirus have a crest?

Scientists think the keel-shaped crest on its snout may have been used for display or to help it steer in flight.1

?How fast could Ornithocheirus fly?

Nobody knows for sure, but as a large pterosaur it was probably a strong flier that could cover long distances.1

?Is Ornithocheirus the biggest pterosaur?

No, it was not the biggest. A related pterosaur called Tropeognathus had a wingspan of about 8.2 metres (27 feet), making it the largest toothed pterosaur known.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Many people think Ornithocheirus had a wingspan of 12 metres (40 feet), making it the largest flying reptile ever.

Truth: That number is exaggerated. Scientists now estimate its wingspan was about 4.5 to 6.1 metres (15 to 20 feet), making it a medium-sized pterosaur.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Ornithocheirus
Named by: Seeley 18695
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Ornithocheiroidea5
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea5
Age of the rocks: 133 to 90 million years (Hauterivian / Turonian)5
Rock formations: West Melbury Marly Chalk, Calcaires à Spatangues, Zig Zag Chalk5
Countries: United Kingdom, France, Portugal, DR Congo, Russia, Germany5
Fossil records: 12 in the Paleobiology Database5
Also known as: Cimoliornis, Criorhynchus, Palaeornis (older names now counted as the same animal)5
Discovery: The first fossils were found in the 1800s in England and named Pterodactylus simus by Richard Owen in 1861. Harry Seeley later gave it the genus name Ornithocheirus in 1869.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate which fossils truly belong to Ornithocheirus and which belong to similar pterosaurs like Coloborhynchus or Tropeognathus.1 3

Where the facts come from

Ornithocheirus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Taxonomic review of the Ornithocheirus complex (Pterosauria) from the Cretaceous of England (zookeys.pensoft.net)
Ornithocheirus — size, diet & habitat | DinoLifePedia (dinolifepedia.com)
Ornithocheirus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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