Genus
Valid Extinct

Nyctosaurus

(Marsh 1876)

Nyctosaurus is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the Niobrara Formation of the mid-western United States, which, during the time Nyctosaurus was alive, was covered in an extensive shallow sea. Some remains belonging to a possible Nyctosaurus species called "N." lamegoi have been found in Brazil, though it likely belongs to a different genus Simurghia. The genus Nyctosaurus has had numerous species referred to it, though how many of these may actually be valid requires further study. At least one species possessed an extraordinarily large antler-like cranial crest.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
10
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Nyctosaurus
click to enlarge
Fossil specimen, CM 11422, of Nyctosaurus gracilis © User:Piotrus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Pterosauria Order
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
Nyctosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 10 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
8
🇲🇽 Mexico
1
🇧🇷 Brazil
1
Geological formations
Tlayúa
1
Gramame
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Santonian (85.7–83.6 Ma)
4
Coniacian (89.8–85.7 Ma)
4
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
1
Species (4)
Nyctosaurus bonneri 86 Ma
Nyctosaurus gracilis 90 Ma
Nyctosaurus lamegoi 72 Ma
Nyctosaurus nanus 90 Ma
Synonyms (1)
Nyctodactylus subjective synonym of Nyctosaurus
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1876. Principal characters of American pterodactyls. American Journal of Science, Series 3 12:479-480 DOI ↗
Bibliography (9)
S. P. Applegate, L. Espinosa-Arrubarrena, and J. Alvarado-Ortega, M. Benammi. 2006. Revision of recent investigations in the Tlayua Quarry. Studies on Mexican Paleontology 24:275-304 DOI ↗
S. C. Bennett. 2003. New crested specimens of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Nyctosaurus. Palaeontologische Zeitschrift 77(1):61-75 DOI ↗
S. C. Bennett. 1994. Taxonomy and systematics of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea). Occasional Papers of the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas 169:1-70
S. C. Bennett. 1991. Morphology of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon and systematics of the Pterodactyloidea. University of Kansas.
H. W. Miller. 1971. The taxonomy of the Pteranodon species from Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 74(1):1-19 DOI ↗
L. I. Price. 1953. A presença de Pterosáuria no Cretáceo Superior do Estado da Paraíba [The presence of Pterosauria in the Upper Cretaceous of Paraíba state]. Ministério da Agricultura, Departamento Nacional da Produção Mineral, Divisão de Geologia e Mineralogie, Notas Preliminares e Estudos 71:1-12
L. M. Lambe. 1914. Report of the vertebrate palaeontologist. Summary Report of the Geological Survey Department of Mines for the Calendar Year 1912 1305:397-403 DOI ↗
S. W. Williston. 1903. On the osteology of Nyctosaurus (Nyctodactylus), with notes on American pterosaurs. Field Columbian Museum Publications, Geological Series 2:125-163 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1876. Notice of a new sub-order of Pterosauria. American Journal of Science 11:507-509 DOI ↗