Pterodactyloidea

Pterodactylus (from ) is a genus of extinct pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, Pterodactylus antiquus, which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehistoric reptiles ever to be discovered.

Pterodactyloidea (International Phonetic Alphabet|; derived from the Greek words πτερόν (pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing", and δάκτυλος (dáktylos) "finger") is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs ("wing lizards"), and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles. They appeared during the middle Jurassic Period, and differ from the basal (though paraphyletic) rhamphorhynchoids by their short tails and long wing metacarpals (hand bones). The most advanced forms also lack teeth, and by the late Cretaceous, all known pterodactyloids were toothless. Many species

Germanodactylus ("German finger") is a genus of germanodactylid pterodactyloid pterosaur from Upper Jurassic-age rocks of Germany, including the Solnhofen Limestone. Its specimens were long thought to pertain to Pterodactylus. The head crest of Germanodactylus is a distinctive feature.

Aerodactylus (meaning "wind finger", after the Pokémon Aerodactyl) is a pterosaur genus containing a single species, Aerodactylus scolopaciceps. The fossil remains of this species have been found only in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, dated to the late Jurassic Period (early Tithonian), about 150.8–148.5 million years ago. The validity of Aerodactylus has been disputed, with some pterosaur experts suggesting that none of the specimens referred to this genus are distinguishable from Pterodactylus.

Kryptodrakon is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Middle to Late Jurassic with an age of approximately 162.7 million years. It is known from a single type species, Kryptodrakon progenitor. The age of its fossil remains made Kryptodrakon the basalmost and oldest pterodactyloid known to date. thumb|Life reconstruction of Kryptodrakon progenitor

Ningchengopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian stage). Its fossil remains were found in the Yixian Formation of what is now China.

Altmuehlopterus (meaning "Altmühl River wing") is a genus of pterosaur belonging to the Pterodactyloidea. It lived in the Late Jurassic of what is now Germany. It was formerly known as "Daitingopterus" (meaning "Daiting Wing"), a nomen nudum, informally coined in 2004.

Cycnorhamphus (meaning "swan beak") is a genus of gallodactylid ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic period of France and Germany, about 152 million years ago. It is synonymous with the genus Gallodactylus.

Araripedactylus is a potentially dubious genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, known from a single wing bone found in the Early Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil.

Herbstosaurus (meaning "Herbst lizard") is an extinct genus of pterosaurs that lived during the late Jurassic period in what is now Argentina. The genus contains a single species, H. pigmaeus, known from a partial skeleton. The specimen was initially identified as belonging to a small theropod dinosaur, but was later recognized as belonging to a pterosaur.

Dermodactylus (meaning "skin finger", from Greek derma and daktylos, in reference to pterosaur wings being skin membranes supported by the ring fingers) was a genus of pterodactyloid (general term for "short-tailed" pterosaur) pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming, United States. It is based on a single partial bone, from the hand.

Archaeopterodactyloidea (meaning "ancient Pterodactyloidea") is an extinct clade of pterodactyloid pterosaurs that lived from the middle Late Jurassic to the latest Early Cretaceous periods (Kimmeridgian to Albian stages) of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It was named by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996 as the group that contains Germanodactylus, Pterodactylus, the Ctenochasmatidae and the Gallodactylidae. Some researchers dispute the relationship of Germanodactylus to other members of the group, and instead use the terms Euctenochasmatia or Ctenochasmatoidea to describe the li

Aurorazhdarcho is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatoid pterosaur known from the Late Jurassic period (early Tithonian stage) of what is now Bavaria, southern Germany.

Tendaguripterus was a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Middle Saurian Beds (Tendaguru Formation) of Tendaguru, Lindi Region, Tanzania.

Ardeadactylus (from Ardea – meaning "heron", and also a name of a genus of herons – and dactylus, meaning "finger") is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatoid pterosaur known from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, southern Germany. It contains a single species, Ardeadactylus longicollum, which was originally thought to be a species of Pterodactylus, as P. longicollum.

Piksi is a potential pterosaur genus containing the single species Piksi barbarulna (meaning "strange elbowed big bird", from Blackfoot piksi, "big bird" or, specifically, "chicken" and Latin barbarus "strange, outlandish" + ulna, elbow). It lived roughly 75 million years ago in what is now Montana, United States. Known from parts of a right wing – the humerus, ulna and radius bones – the only specimens found so far are housed in the Museum of the Rockies (collection number MOR 1113). The genus Piksi is monotypic at present.

Germanodactylidae is a controversial group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. It was first named by Yang Zhongjian in 1964, and given a formal phylogenetic definition in 2014 by Brian Andres, James Clark, and Xu Xing. They defined it as the least inclusive clade containing Germanodactylus cristatus and Normannognathus wellnhoferi, which they considered to be close relatives at the time. However, more recent studies by the same researchers have found that these pterosaurs may be only distantly related.

Eurolimnornis is a dubious genus of avemetatarsalian, probably a pterosaur, from the Early Cretaceous.

Gallodactylidae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Gallodactylids differed from other related pterosaurs in several distinct features, including fewer than 50 teeth present only in the jaw tips, and rounded crests present on the rear portion of the skull and jaws but not near the ends of their snouts. At least some species possessed jaw flanges, possibly used to dissect hard-shelled prey.

Diopecephalus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) of the Lithographic Limestone, Bavaria, Germany. The type and only species is D. kochi, although the name has been applied to Pterodactylus longicollum, with longicollum erroneously listed as the type species. thumb|Juvenile type specimen

Samrukia is a genus of large Cretaceous pterosaurs known only from a single lower jaw discovered in Kazakhstan. The holotype and only known specimen was collected from the Santonian-Campanian age Bostobynskaya Formation in Kyzylorda District. It was described by Darren Naish, Gareth Dyke, Andrea Cau, François Escuillié, and Pascal Godefroit in 2012, and the type species is named Samrukia nessovi. The species is named after Lev Nessov, a paleontologist, and the genus is named after Samruk, a magical bird of Kazakh folklore.

Wenupteryx is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian stage) Vaca Muerta of Neuquén Province, southern Argentina. It was first named by Laura Codorniú and Zulma Gasparini in 2013 and the type species is Wenupteryx uzi. It is a small-sized pterosaur related to the clade Euctenochasmatia or Archaeopterodactyloidea.

Pangupterus (meaning Pangu wing) is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China. It was first described and named by Lü Junchang et al.

Prejanopterus is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous (lower Aptian age) layers of the Leza Formation of La Rioja, Spain.

Puntanipterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian stage) La Cruz Formation of San Luis, Argentina.

Saratovia is a genus of targaryendraconian pterosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Russia. The genus contains a single species, S. glickmani, known from a partial lower jawbone, and is named after the city of Saratov, where the specimen was found, and its discover Leonid S. Glickman. The fossil comes from sedimentary rocks of the Melovatka Formation. Uncovered in the 1940s, the only specimen was assigned to various genera such as Ornithocheirus, Anhanguera and Coloborhynchus before being recognized as a new taxon and named in 2025. Likewise, though long thought to belon