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Vesperopterylus

Say it: ves-per-OP-ter-uh-lus

Name means: “evening wing”3

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Vesperopterylus was a tiny pterosaur that lived in the trees. It had a reversed first toe that helped it grip branches, like a bird perching. It was one of the youngest anurognathid pterosaurs ever found.1

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

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Lamadong, Jianchang, Liaoning Province, China (Jiufotang Formation)3 1

Food

Fish3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Vesperopterylus had a reversed first toe, which is the first time such a feature has been seen in a pterosaur. This toe helped it perch on branches.1

It is the first anurognathid pterosaur from China with a definitely short tail.1

Vesperopterylus lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 121 to 113 million years ago.3

Its name means 'evening wing', referring to its likely crepuscular or nocturnal habits.3

The reversed first toe of Vesperopterylus suggests it spent much of its time in trees, an unusual lifestyle for a pterosaur.1

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

?How big was Vesperopterylus?

Its exact size is not given in the sources, but it was a tiny pterosaur, small enough to perch on tree branches.2

?What did Vesperopterylus eat?

The Paleobiology Database lists it as a volant piscivore, meaning it likely ate fish while flying.3

?Could Vesperopterylus fly?

Yes, it was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, and it could fly. Its name means 'dusk wing'.2

?When did Vesperopterylus live?

It lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 122 million years ago, based on the Jiufotang Formation.2 3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Vesperopterylus
Named by: Lu et al. 20173
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Anurognathidae3
Classification: Pterosauria3
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)3
Rock formations: Jiufotang3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Vesperopterylus was named in 2017 by Lu and colleagues based on a complete skeleton with a skull found in Liaoning, China.3 1

Where the facts come from

nnhm.org.cn (nnhm.org.cn)
Vesperopterylus (en.wikipedia.org)
Vesperopterylus 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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