Ornithodesmus
Ornithodesmus was a flying reptile that lived about 125 million years ago. It was once thought to be a bird, but scientists now know it was a pterosaur. It soared over the floodplains of what is now the Isle of Wight in England.1
When did it live?
Fun facts
Ornithodesmus was first described in 1887 by Harry Govier Seeley, who thought it was a bird because of its bird-like hip bones.1
The only known fossil of Ornithodesmus is a set of six fused vertebrae from the hip, called a sacrum.1
For many years, scientists mistakenly thought Ornithodesmus was a pterosaur, and other pterosaur fossils were given the same name. Those fossils were later renamed Istiodactylus in 2001.1
The name Ornithodesmus comes from Greek words meaning 'bird link', because Seeley thought it was a link between birds and dinosaurs.1
The species name cluniculus means 'little buttock' in Latin, a reference to the small thigh muscles suggested by the fossil.1
Ornithodesmus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago, in a floodplain environment with rivers and lakes.1
Most asked questions about Ornithodesmus
?Is Ornithodesmus a dinosaur?
No, Ornithodesmus is a pterosaur, which is a flying reptile and not a dinosaur. While some fossils were once confused with dromaeosaurid dinosaurs, it is now classified as an azhdarchoid pterosaur.1
?How big was Ornithodesmus?
Ornithodesmus was small, with a total body length of about 1.5 to 1.8 metres. That is roughly the size of a large dog.1
?What did Ornithodesmus eat?
Nobody knows for sure what Ornithodesmus ate, but as an azhdarchoid pterosaur, it likely fed on small animals or insects. Previous associations with dromaeosaurid teeth were based on misidentifications.1
?When did Ornithodesmus live?
Ornithodesmus lived about 125 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period. It lived in a floodplain environment with rivers and lakes on what is now the Isle of Wight in England.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Ornithodesmus was a bird.
Truth: Ornithodesmus was actually a pterosaur, a flying reptile, not a bird. The confusion happened because its hip bones looked bird-like.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Ornithodesmus
- Named by
- Seeley 18872
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Ornithocheiroidea2
- Classification
- Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea2
- Age of the rocks
- 137 to 121 million years (Valanginian / Barremian)2
- Rock formations
- Wadhurst Clay, Wessex2
- Countries
- United Kingdom2
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- Ornithodesmus was named by Harry Govier Seeley in 1887 based on a fossil sacrum found by Reverend William Fox in Brook Bay, Isle of Wight, England.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still unsure exactly what type of pterosaur Ornithodesmus was, because the only known fossil is a small piece of the hip.1
Where the facts come from
- Ornithodesmus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Ornithodesmus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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