Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
236 / Mesozoic
Tapejara
Tapejara wellnhoferi
An enormous crest rose above a short toothless beak, with soft tissue extending the bony sail still farther.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 112–109 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Semi-arid lagoons and woodland · Northeastern Brazil
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Tapejara?
Tapejara (Tapejara wellnhoferi) was an extinct organism known from About 112–109 million years ago, with a range in Semi-arid lagoons and woodland · Northeastern Brazil.
Life and ecology
Tapejara launched quadrupedally and flew on membranes supported by the fourth finger. Its crest signaled identity or condition; diet may have included fruit or other plant resources.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Tapejara disappear?
Mid-Cretaceous coastal habitats and pterosaur communities changed while relatives diversified; this does not establish why the genus disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Tapejara?
Crato Formation skulls, skeletons and soft-tissue crest outlines constrain its extreme profile.
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