Look in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No....it's super lizard!!!!!!!
Pterodactyls are one of the most confusing prehistoric creatures. Just the name alone can be trouble for many people. The name is "Tear-oh-dac-til".
So exactly what IS a Pterodactyl? Well first of all, it's not a flying dinosaur. I know there are hundreds of books that say that Pterodactyls were dinosaurs, but those books are WRONG! Although Pterodactyls lived at the same time and place as many dinosaurs, they were only distantly related and are not considered true dinosaurs. Back when most of those books were written, Paleontologists used to lump them in with the dinosaurs, but not any longer.
Pterodactyls were flying reptiles. Their skeleton design was different from that of dinosaurs so that is why they are not considered the same thing. There were basically two types of flying reptile. Some had teeth and long tails, and the others had no teeth and practically no tail at all. We often use the name Pterodactyl to describe any flying reptile, but the use of the term is often incorrect. There is NO flying animals named Pterodactyl. The name Pterodactyl is used to describe the family of animals, not one particular member. It's like the word DOG. There are many varieties of Dogs, but none of them are named DOG. There are many members of the Pterodactyl family but none of them are named Pterodactyl.
Does this make any sense? It's 3:55 in the morning and I'm a little tired, so if this is not clear, blame it on the early hour it is being written!
The most common member of the Pterodactyl family is Pteranodon. (Ter-ran-oh-don). Chances are if you show a child the picture at the top of the page and ask them what its name is, they'll scream PTERODACTYL! If they do, explain that they are incorrect. And then as punishment have them paint the house, mow the lawn, or change the oil in your car. Kids under the age of three may have trouble with the oil change thing, but they're never too young to learn!
Keep reading!!!!!!!!!!!
DG.
