pterosaur

[ter-uh-sawr]

noun

1. any flying reptile of the extinct order Pterosauria, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having the outside digit of the forelimb greatly elongated and supporting a wing membrane.

pterosaur

/ ˈtɛrəˌsɔː /

noun

1. any extinct flying reptile of the order Pterosauria, of Jurassic and Cretaceous times: included the pterodactyls Compare dinosaur plesiosaur

pterosaur

1. Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods with wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by an elongated fourth digit on each forelimb (rather than an elongated second digit as in birds). Some pterosaurs were unique among reptiles in being covered with hair. Pterosaurs had wingspans ranging from less than 0.3 m (1 ft) to close to 15.2 m (50 ft).

Word History and Origins

Origin of pterosaur¹

1860–65; < New Latin Pterosauria; ptero-, -saur

Example Sentences

Studying the pterosaur's teeth also provided clues about what the seagull-sized winged reptile would have eaten.

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Like later pterosaurs, S. bavarica was adapted to move on the ground when not flying, the team reported last week in Current Biology.

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The pterosaurs are extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside their close relatives, the dinosaurs.

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Excavated from a gravel pit near Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, the fossil includes part of the pterosaur's wing bone, which was broken into three pieces but still well-preserved.

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Some fossils are thought to represent previously undescribed species, including two additional pterosaur skulls and two small raptor dinosaurs.

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