A New View of Pteranodon

Click on the "Free Printable Downloads" button to get drawings to color.   These recent drawings are found at the bottom of the list of drawings.  It is a very long list.  Feel free to print for coloring. 

One of my Earlier drawings of Pteranodon Fishing

Pteranodon and other pterosaurs are often drawn with limited patterns.   Such as the older drawing I posted above.  Notice the un-ornamented wings.  I had an epiphany today.  I have rarely seen any pattern on pterosaur wings.  So, today I made some drawings of Pteranodon with patterns on the wings.

Pteranodon was a very successful pterosaur or flying reptile that lived at the same time as dinosaurs...that is the Mesozoic Era.  The Mesozoic Era is divided into three periods.  The first was the Triasssic Period...the second was the Jurassic Period...and the last was the Cretaceous Period.  Ptreranodons were not the very largest Pterosaur, but they were perhaps the most successful Genus 
and they were still pretty big.  Their wingspan was 20 ft or 6 meters.  They were toothless.... In fact the name "Pteranodon" means "winged" and "toothless".  It's Greek:  "Pteron"=wing and "anodon"=toothless.   Pteranodons lived near water...probably mostly ocean.  They ate fish.   The name "Pteranodon" is a Genus name so that means there are two identified species of Pteranodon.
They have found over 1000 individual specimens of Pteranodon.  So that large number of individuals getting fossilized indicates a very successful Genus. 

Pteranodon over a Lambeosaurus

This first new drawing is of a Pteranodon flying over a Lambeosaurus.  Lambeosaurus was a large duckbill dinosaur of the late Cretaceous Period.  Notice the pattern on the open wings.

Pteranodon evading Tylosaurus

The second new drawing is of a Pteranodon over the ocean.  He or she is evading a large marine reptile called Tylosaurus....a Mosasaur.  This Mosasaur is drawn with a tail fluke.  It is a fairly recent theory that some Mosasaurs may have had a tail fluke at the end of their snake-like tail.  The Pteranodon is drawn with a pattern similar to the first drawing. 

Pteranodon fishing over a Tylosaurus

The last of my new drawings is of a less striking pattern on a Pteranodon that is fishing in the ocean...Ok he or she is flying above the ocean but is about to grab that fish with its large toothless mouth or beak.  The wing pattern is reminiscent of butterfly wing patterns.  The Tylosaurus or Mosasaur is drawn in a more traditional way without a tail fluke.  Notice the giant kelp that is flanking the Pteranodon.   Kelp is very plant-like but it is actually in the Protista Family of living things.

NOTE:  These last three drawings are found at the BOTTOM of the "Free Printable Downloads" page of this blog.  Click on the button at the top of this page and scroll down to the bottom.