Pteranodon ingens

Pteranodon ingens. Artist: Kate Nolan. Source: Museum Victoria.

Pteranodon was one of the largest of the pterosaurs—the winged reptiles from the Mesozoic Era. Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs, although they lived at the same time. Early pterosaurs had teeth and long tails, while later pterosaurs, such as Pteranodon, lacked tails, and most had no teeth.

The vast majority of known pterosaurs, including Pteranodon, were fish-eaters. Palaeontologists have confirmed this, as fossil Pteranodons have been found with fragments of fish, fish scales and crustaceans in their jaws and stomach.

The breast-bone of Pteranodon was relatively small, restricting the size of flight muscles, so presumably they would have spent a lot of time gliding and soaring. The skull was large, but light-weight; the jaws were toothless, perhaps with a pelican-like pouch in the lower jaw. A distinctive feature was the crest extending from the top of the skull. Its function is uncertain, perhaps it was a counter-weight to the beak, allowing for a reduction in the size of neck muscles, or perhaps it was a rudder for stability in flight.

The exhibit at Melbourne Museum is a full sized restoration (model) of Pteranodon ingens found in the U.S.A.