Dino card No. 1843 of 2,027

Tupuxuara

Say it: too-pu-SHWA-ra

Name means: “familiar spirit, from the mythology of the Tupi people in Brazil”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Tupuxuara was a flying reptile with a huge, bony crest on its head. It soared over ancient Brazil about 112 million years ago, using its long wings and toothless beak to hunt for fish.1 2

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

Lived

120 to 113 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Romualdo Formation, Santana Group, northeastern Brazil1 3

Food

Fish1 3

Length

2 m1

total body length

Wingspan

4.5 to 4.7 m1 2

Weight

25 kg1

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 6 house cats

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 11 bananas end to endas heavy as 5 watermelons

How big was Tupuxuara compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Tupuxuara had a huge crest on its head made of bone. The crest was bigger in older animals, so scientists think it was used to show off to mates.1

Its wings were very long compared to its body weight. This helped it fly well and cover long distances.1

Tupuxuara lived about 112 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.1

The first fossils of Tupuxuara were a snout and some wing bones. They were found in Brazil.1

There are two main species: Tupuxuara longicristatus, which had a long crest, and Tupuxuara leonardii, which had a more rounded crest.1

A third species, Tupuxuara deliradamus, was named in 2009 but many scientists now think it is not a valid species.1

Tupuxuara was a close relative of Thalassodromeus, another large pterosaur from Brazil.1

By studying its eye bones, scientists think Tupuxuara was active during the day.1

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

?How big was Tupuxuara?

Tupuxuara had a wingspan of about 4.7 metres (15.4 feet) and weighed around 25 kilograms (55.1 pounds). Its body length was about 2 metres (6.6 feet).1

?What did Tupuxuara eat?

Scientists think Tupuxuara was probably a terrestrial omnivore or carnivore, eating a mix of plants and small animals. Earlier ideas that it ate only fish or fruit are less likely now.1

?Did Tupuxuara have teeth?

No, Tupuxuara had a toothless beak, like many other pterosaurs from its group.1

?Why did Tupuxuara have a crest?

The large bony crest on its head was probably used to show off to mates, since it grew bigger as the animal got older. It was a sign of sexual maturity.1

?When did Tupuxuara live?

Tupuxuara lived about 112 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.1

?Is Tupuxuara a dinosaur?

No, Tupuxuara is a pterosaur, which is a flying reptile. Pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, though they lived at the same time.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Tupuxuara was a dinosaur.

Truth: Tupuxuara was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs but is not a dinosaur.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Tupuxuara
Named by: Kellner and Campos 19883
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Thalassodromidae3
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea3
Age of the rocks: 120 to 113 million years (Aptian)3
Rock formations: Romualdo3
Countries: Brazil3
Fossil records: 5 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Tupuxuara was named in 1988 by Brazilian paleontologists Alexander Kellner and Diógenes de Almeida Campos. The first fossils were found in the Santana Formation (now Romualdo Formation) of Brazil.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly what Tupuxuara ate. It may have been a fish eater, a meat eater, or even an omnivore that also ate fruit.1

Where the facts come from

Tupuxuara (en.wikipedia.org)
Friday's Pterosaur: Tupuxuara (amnh.org)
Tupuxuara 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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