1. Pterodactyl Biology I Ms. Roberson By: Brian Rodriguez Daniella Molina Gustavo Melara

2. Description Pterodactyls flew long distances using their large membranous wings. They are classified as flying reptiles and not dinosaurs. It is believed that they had above average eyesight to catch their pray. Their jaws were like a beak. http://www.mantyweb.com/dinosaur/pteroda ctyl.htm

3. Diet Pterodactyls were carnivores, that means that they ate only meat. They liked to eat fish. http://www.mantyweb.com/dinosaur/pteroda ctyl.htm

4. When did they exist? Pterodactyls existed sometime around the late Mesozoic Period, about 251 to 65 million years ago. http://www.mantyweb.com/dinosaur/pteroda ctyl.htm

5. Fossils Fossils of the pterodactyls can be found in various parts of the world. They are found in Europe, Australia, Africa, and America. http://www.mantyweb.com/dinosaur/pteroda ctyl.htm

6. Classification Pterodactyls are classified in the category Pterosaurs. Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

7. Evolution The first species of Pterodactyls had fully toothed jaws. It later changed and formed into a beak. Some of them might have had a sixty feet wingspan. The later forms had shorter tails than the first, and also some of them lacked teeth. http://d21c.com/AAALynx/dino/pterodactyl.html

8. Reproduction Very little is known about the way in which Pterodactyls reproduced. Their eggs had leathery shells like modern-day lizards. It is believed that they buried their eggs, like crocodiles and turtles do today. The embryos wings were fully developed and they were ready to fly soon after they were born. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

9. How were they discovered? The first pterodactyl fossil was discovered by an Italian naturalist, Cosimo Collini in 1784. He had misinterpreted the specimen by thinking it was a sea-going creature. They believed they were sea-going creatures until Georges Cuvier suggested that they were flying creatures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

10. Anatomy Their bodies were specially modified for flight. Their bones were hollow and air filled like the bones of birds. They also had an enlarged brain that shows specialized features that are related to flight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

11. Extinction By the end of the Cretaceous period only large species of pterodactyls existed. They ceased existing after the great extinction that wiped out all dinosaurs, flying reptiles, and many other animals as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur