Page 157 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

POMP AND SHOW
A forked, bony strut extended
high above Nyctosaurus’s
Many complete skeletons of Pteranodon have been skull—it was three times as
found, and by examining the pelvic bones, scientists can long as the skull itself.
distinguish between males and females. The males have
larger crests, which shows they were important in courtship,
like the decorative feathers of birds such as peacocks.
The crest of a male Pteranodon
was much bigger, and the shape
A female Pteranodon varied with the species.
had a relatively Nyctosaurus
small crest.

Female Pteranodon
The enormous crest of
Tupandactylus was
the largest of any known
pterosaur, but it would not
Male Pteranodon have weighed much.

Tupandactylus
This huge pterosaur
probably had a shallow crest
on top of its very long skull.

The toothless beak
was up to 8 ft (2.5 m)
long—a record
for a land animal.
Hatzegopteryx

Some pterosaurs Tropeognathus
had crests of bone
on their jaws.

crests were probably vividly colored— with the biggest crests
photographs of one fossil taken using ultraviolet belonged to males, while those
light show distinct traces of color banding. For with smaller crests were females. Such
most pterosaurs, it is not possible to say whether gender differences are common in modern
males and females both had crests, but in the birds. Male peacocks, for instance, have longer
case of Pteranodon, it is clear that fossil skulls tails and brighter colors than females. 155

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