Outside of insects, Pterosaurs were the first animals to evolve the ability to fly, taking to the skies during the Age of Dinosaurs. Their ability to get around quickly may account for their considerable distribution in the fossil record, living from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous, across 160 million years. Some were no longer than the birds of today, while the mighty Quetzalcoatlus boasted a wingspan of at least 30 feet across!

This specimen is a Pterosaur fossilized bone, dating to the Cretaceous Period 82 million years ago. It was uncovered in the Niobrara Formation in Gove County, Kansas. The fossil ships in a sturdy carton and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity.

"One of these strange animals, whose appearance would be frightful did they occur alive at the present day, may have been of the size of a thrush." ~ Georges Cuvier Théorie de la terre / Essay on the Theory of the Earth (1821)

Many Pterosaurs also sported elaborate head crests, which may have reached peak extravagance when pterodactyloids attained their largest size in the Late Cretaceous. Nyctosaurus, a pterodactyloid from the Niobara Formation in North America, had a fantastical skull sporting two long bony rods, which may have been connected by tissue to form a giant fan crest. Similarly, Tupandactylus imperator, found in the Crato Formation in Brazil, wielded a great sail atop its head as well as a keel-like fin on its lower jaw.

So, did pterosaurs soar, glide, or were they active flyers?

Many scientists and engineers have tried to recreate their flight dynamics. No one knows for sure, but one study by aerospace engineer Colin Palmer turned up some interesting ideas about the shape of the pterosaurs’ wings. Palmer’s wind tunnel tests suggest that pterosaurs could glide for hours using minimal effort. The tests also indicate that pterosaurs landed using a slow glide to protect their complex wings