Collection: Pterosauria: Winged Antiquity

PTEROSAURIA: WINGED ANTIQUITY

Pterosaurs were among some of the greatest animals to have ever flown the Earth's skies. They shared the world in the Mesozoic era with their cousins, the land-dwelling dinosaurs. They are not dinosaurs like they are traditionally depicted with, but they and the dinosaurs are grouped in a larger family: the Avemetatarsalia, a division of the archosaurs or "ruling reptiles".

Pterosaurs come in various shapes and forms, and most of these unique forms come from pterosaur species living in the Cretaceous period, where evolution of reptiles was at its most spectacular. Most of these pterosaurs sport flamboyant crests.

Pterosauria: Winged Antiquity, acrylic on canvas, 2020. Set of 9, each piece 8" X 8" 

Geosternbergia

Geosternbergia, acrylic on canvas, 2019

Geosternbergia is a pterosaur with a distinctive head crest. It was once thought to have been synonymous with Pteranodon, its closest cousin, which also had a narrow, toothless beak. 

Ornithocheirus

Ornithocheirus, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Ornithocheirus (“bird hand”) lived in the Early Cretaceous period of Europe. Its distinctive feature is the pair of crests on its snout. It lived alongside large dinosaurs such as Pelorosaurus. This pterosaur shot to fame in the fourth episode of the BBC documentary, Walking With Dinosaurs which focused on an individual's long journey to find a mate. Some pterosaurs that lived around its time such as Tropeognathus and Cearadactylus resembled Ornithocheirus but lived on other parts of the globe.

Nyctosaurus

Nyctosaurus, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Nyctosaurus (“night lizard”) is a pterosaur with a large, antler-like head crest. It is similar in body shape to Pteranodon, another pterosaur. This pterosaur is also said to have lacked other digits on its forelimbs beside the flight digit where the wing membrane was attached.

Dsungaripterus

Dsungaripterus, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Dsungaripterus is a pterosaur that lived in northwestern China in the Early Cretaceous period. Its most notable features are its pointed, upcurved snout and a bony crest which ran along its head. Pictured with this pterosaur in the painting is an ancient flowering plant Archaefructus (“early fruit”) and the gliding feathered dinosaur Microraptor.

Pterodaustro

Pterodaustro, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Pterodaustro (“southern wing”) lived in the Early Cretaceous period of South America. It can be easily identified by the bristle-like teeth on its lower jaw, which it may have used for filter feeding on small invertebrates from the water. 

Tupuxuara

Tupuxuara, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Tupuxuara has among one of the most distinctive crests in the pterosaur family. They were thought to have lived close to the sea, hunting for fish. The crest of this pterosaur showed evidence of an abundance of blood vessels, which may have suggested the crest to have been brightly-colored.

Tapejara

Tapejara, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Tapejara had one of the flashiest crests in the pterosaur family. This pterosaur lived in South America during the Early Cretaceous period. Surrounding these pterosaurs in the painting are berries from ancient flowering plants. Tapejara may have fed on these berries as well as fish.

Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Quetzalcoatlus was one of the largest pterosaurs to have flown the skies of the Late Cretaceous, with a wingspan of 13 metres in length. It was also one of the last, living at the same time and in the same place as Tyrannosaurus rex.

Pteranodon

Pteranodon profile, acrylic on canvas, 2020

Pteranodon is one of the most famous and well-known of pterosaurs, due to many fossils of the animal being uncovered and studied by scientists. It lived in the Late Cretaceous and had a bony crest on its head. It is one of the many genera of toothless pterosaurs.