Nyctosaurus

pterosaur · flying reptile · cretaceous · sea creature

Flying Reptile. Nyctosaurus was not a dinosaur but a pterosaur, a different kind of flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous period.

Massive Head Crest. At least one Nyctosaurus species had an extraordinarily large, antler-like crest on top of its head. Scientists are still studying what this impressive crest was used for.

Shallow Sea Home. Nyctosaurus lived in what is now the Niobrara Formation in the mid-western United States, an area that was covered by a vast shallow sea during its time.

Mystery Species. Fossils once called Nyctosaurus have been found in Brazil too, but scientists think those remains may actually belong to a different pterosaur genus called Simurghia.