PTERODACTYL

any member of the suborder Pterodactyloidea (order Pterosauria) of extinct flying reptiles first known from fossils in Late Jurassic deposits (those 144 to 163 million years old) in East Africa and Europe and present in European Cretaceous deposits (those 66.4 to 144 million years old). The genus Pterodactylus, which comprises several related forms or species, is typical. Most pterodactyls were small, some no larger than sparrows, although some were larger than an albatross. They generally had slender and delicate teeth. In some forms, the numerous teeth were angled forward; it is possible that these forms used the teeth as straining devices, much as the bills of modern ducks. The tail in Pterodactylus was very small. The animal was probably an able glider but was perhaps less efficient as an active flier. It is probable that Pterodactylus and related forms played the same ecological roles as do the modern birds. It is uncertain whether these animals exhibited nesting behaviour. See also pterosaur.