Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
285 / Mesozoic
Pterodaustro
Pterodaustro guinazui
More than a thousand bristle-like lower teeth formed a filter basket.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 105 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Saline lagoons and shallow lakes · Argentina
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Pterodaustro?
Pterodaustro (Pterodaustro guinazui) was an extinct organism known from About 105 million years ago, with a range in Saline lagoons and shallow lakes · Argentina.
Life and ecology
Pterodaustro waded and swam in shallow lagoons, straining small crustaceans and other particles much like a flamingo.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Pterodaustro disappear?
Drying lagoons and regional pterosaur turnover are possible context; the fossil record does not establish why this local lineage disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Pterodaustro?
Argentine bonebeds preserve embryos, juveniles, adults and stomach stones, revealing growth and feeding.
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