Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
283 / Mesozoic
Nyctosaurus
Nyctosaurus gracilis
An enormous branching crest crowned some adults, but there is no fossil evidence for a sail between its prongs.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 87–82 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Skies above the Western Interior Seaway · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Nyctosaurus?
Nyctosaurus (Nyctosaurus gracilis) was an extinct organism known from About 87–82 million years ago, with a range in Skies above the Western Interior Seaway · North America.
Life and ecology
Nyctosaurus was a toothless oceanic flier with very long wings and reduced fingers, probably soaring for fish and squid.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Nyctosaurus disappear?
Its record ends before the final Cretaceous crisis; marine and pterosaur turnover is possible context, not a demonstrated cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Nyctosaurus?
Kansas skeletons preserve wings and skulls, including rare adults with complete branching crests.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS