Wukongopterus
Wukongopterus was a small flying reptile that lived in what is now China. It had a long tail and a long neck, which made it look a bit like a dragon. It soared over ancient lakes and caught fish with its sharp teeth.1
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Fun facts
Wukongopterus had a broken leg bone that healed while it was alive, showing it survived an injury.1
It had at least 16 short, peg-like teeth on each side of its upper jaw, perfect for catching slippery fish.1
Its neck bones were longer than those of any other known non-pterodactyloid pterosaur, which is a bit like a giraffe's neck among its relatives.1
The first two pairs of teeth in its upper jaw stuck out beyond its lower jaw, a unique feature not seen in other pterosaurs.1
It had a membrane between its hind legs, called a uropatagium, which helped it glide and steer in the air.1
Wukongopterus is one of the youngest long-tailed pterosaurs known, living near the end of the Jurassic period.1
Most asked questions about Wukongopterus
?How big was Wukongopterus?
It was small, with a wingspan of about 73 centimetres (29 inches).2
?What did Wukongopterus eat?
It ate fish, catching them with its sharp, peg-like teeth.2
?When did Wukongopterus live?
It lived during the Middle or Late Jurassic period, about 164 million years ago.2
?Is Wukongopterus a dinosaur?
No, it is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that is not a dinosaur.2
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Wukongopterus was a dinosaur because it lived with dinosaurs.
Truth: It was actually a pterosaur, a flying reptile that is a close cousin of dinosaurs, but not a dinosaur itself.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Wukongopterus
- Named by
- Wang et al. 20093
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Monofenestrata3
- Classification
- Pterosauria3
- Age of the rocks
- 168 to 152 million years (Bathonian / Kimmeridgian)3
- Rock formations
- Tiaojishan3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- It was named by Wang and colleagues in 2009 based on an almost complete skeleton found in China. The fossil was discovered in rocks that may be from the Daohugou Bed, and it was given the species name lii.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how old the rocks are where Wukongopterus was found, with some saying Late Jurassic and others Early Cretaceous.1
Where the facts come from
- Brasil - An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China (scielo.br)
- Wukongopterus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wukongopterus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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