A shorthand term for all pterosaurs (the group of winged flying archosaurs that is the sister clade of the dinosaurs), including not only pterodactyls but also all the other pterosaur species that ever existed on Earth.
I personally coined this term by analogy with how "dino" is used as a shorthand term for (non-avian) dinosaurs, and also to stop people from ever again calling pterosaurs in general "pterodactyls" even when they're not Pterodactylus antiquus (the only species that can unquestionably be called a pterodactyl).
I personally coined this term by analogy with how "dino" is used as a shorthand term for (non-avian) dinosaurs, and also to stop people from ever again calling pterosaurs in general "pterodactyls" even when they're not Pterodactylus antiquus (the only species that can unquestionably be called a pterodactyl).
Within the tetrapods, there have been exactly three clades that have all independently evolved the ability to fly: pteros, a bunch of prehistoric reptiles closely related to but district from dinosaurs; birds, a clade of feathery theropod dinosaurs that unlike all other dinos, uniquely survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event; and bats, a group of unique laurasiatherian placental mammals. The pteros were the first clade to evolve full flight, but they're also the only fully extinct flying vertebrate group.
by ResearchToonGamer February 02, 2025