pteranodon

American  

[tuh-ran-uh-don] / təˈræn əˌdɒn /

noun

1. a flying reptile of the extinct order Pterosauria, from the Cretaceous Period, having a wingspread of about 25 feet (8 meters).

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pteranodon Scientific  

/ tə-răn′ə-dŏn′ /

1. Any of several very large, extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs) of the genus Pteranodon of the Cretaceous Period. Pteranodon had a long pointed crest on its head, no teeth, a very short tail, and a wingspan upwards of 9 m (30 ft).

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Etymology

Origin of pteranodon

< New Latin, equivalent to pter- pter- + Greek anódōn toothless ( see an- ¹, -odont)

Example Sentences

A short preview of the experience was Disneyfied fun: immersion in a landscape whose inhabitants included giant dragonflies, a Pteranodon, a group of long-necked Astrodon and agile hadrosaurs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2025

In a similar case, a shark tooth found with a Pteranodon fossil may or may not indicate that the shark fed on the reptile.

From Scientific American • Feb. 2, 2020

Spear’s tranquil river fishing in the first episode is interrupted by a giant crocodile who’s after his catch, and later, he has to hide from a Pteranodon on his way home.

From The Verge • Oct. 7, 2019

In a Dec. 30, 2015, Wild Things, Jason Bittel misstated that animals in both the Pteranodon and Rhamphorhynchus genera are long-tailed.

From Slate • Jan. 8, 2016

“I wasn’t trying to get up close and personal with anything in that world, but...there were Pteranodon flying in the sky!”

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott