Genus
Valid Extinct

Pteranodon

Marsh 1876

Pteranodon (; from Ancient Greek pteron 'wing', an- 'without', and odon 'tooth' is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with P. longiceps having a wingspan of over 6 m. They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama. More fossil specimens of Pteranodon have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons. It was an important part of the animal community in the Western Interior Seaway.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
42
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Pteranodon
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Mounted composite cast of Pteranodon longiceps (=P. ingens) at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Photo credit Matt Martyniuk henteeth.com © Matt Martyniuk · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
›
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
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Pteranodontia Unranked clade
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Pteranodon Genus
Fossil sites 42 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
42
Geological formations
Niobrara
25
Pierre Shale
14
Merchantville
1
Sharon Springs
1
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
17
Santonian (85.7–83.6 Ma)
21
Coniacian (89.8–85.7 Ma)
4
Species (13)
Ornithocheirus harpyia nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 86 Ma
Ornithocheirus umbrosus nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 90 Ma
Ornithochirus harpyia nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pteranodon (Longicepia) marshi subjective synonym of Pteranodon longiceps 86 Ma
Pteranodon (Occidentalia) eatoni subjective synonym of Pteranodon sternbergi 90 Ma
Pteranodon (Sternbergia) walkeri subjective synonym of Pteranodon longiceps 86 Ma
Pteranodon comptus nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 86 Ma
Pteranodon longiceps 86 Ma
Pteranodon sternbergi 90 Ma
Pterodactylus ingens nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 86 Ma
Pterodactylus occidentalis nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pterodactylus oweni nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 86 Ma
Pterodactylus velox nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon 86 Ma
Synonyms (8)
Ornithocheirus harpyia nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Ornithocheirus umbrosus nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Ornithochirus harpyia nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pteranodon comptus nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pterodactylus ingens nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pterodactylus occidentalis nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pterodactylus oweni nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Pterodactylus velox nomen dubium, species not entered Pteranodon
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1876. Notice of a new sub-order of Pterosauria. American Journal of Science 11:507-509 DOI ↗
Bibliography (15)
R. Starkey, M. Habib, and W. S. Persons. 2024. A pteranodontid wing with traces of extensive invertebrate scavenging from the Pierre Shale (Sharon Springs Member, Campanian–Maastrichtian), east central Wyoming (Niobrara County). Cretaceous Research 158:105837 DOI ↗
D. W. E. Hone, M. P. Witton, and M. B. Habib. 2018. Evidence for the Cretaceous shark Cretoxyrhina mantelli feeding on the pterosaur Pteranodon from the Niobrara Formation. PeerJ 6(e6031) DOI ↗
S. Bennet. 2017. New smallest specimen of the pterosaur Pteranodon and ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs. Cambridge Core DOI ↗
M. J. Everhart. 2011. Rediscovery of the Hesperornis regalis Marsh 1871 holotype locality indicates an earlier stratigraphic occurrence. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 114(1-2):59-68 DOI ↗
J. Hargrave. 2007. Pteranodon (Reptilia: Pterosauria): stratigraphic distribution and taphonomy in the lower Pierre Shale Group (Campanian), western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Geological Society of America Special Paper 427:215-225 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.
E. O. Wiley and J. D. Stewart. 1981. Urenchelys abditus, new species, the first undoubted eel (Teleostei: Anguilliformes) from the Cretaceous of North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 1(1):43-47 DOI ↗
H. W. Miller. 1971. The taxonomy of the Pteranodon species from Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 74(1):1-19 DOI ↗
H. W. Miller. 1971. A skull of Pteranodon (Longicepia) longiceps Marsh associated with wing and body bones. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 74(1):20-33 DOI ↗
J. C. Harksen. 1966. Pteranodon sternbergi, a new fossil pterodactyl from the Niobrara Cretaceous of Kansas. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science 45:74-77
G. F. Sternberg and M. V. Walker. 1958. Observation of articulated limb bones of a recently discovered Pteranodon in the Niobrara Cretaceous of Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 61(1):81-85 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1876. Notice of a new sub-order of Pterosauria. American Journal of Science 11:507-509 DOI ↗
E. D. Cope. 1872. On two new ornithosaurians from Kansas. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 12:420-422
O. C. Marsh. 1872. Discovery of additional remains of Pterosauria, with descriptions of two new species. American Journal of Science, Series 3 3:241-248 DOI ↗