Editing Pterodactylus (section)

==Description==
[[File:Pterodactylus scale mmartyniuk wiki.png|thumb|upright|left|Size of the sub-adult holotype (blue) and adult (green) specimens in both flying and standing postures, compared with a human]]
''Pterodactylus'' is known from over 30 fossil specimens, and though most belong to juveniles, many preserve complete skeletons.<ref name=BennettPZ /><ref name=bennett1996a>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/02724634.1996.10011332 |author=Bennett, S.C. |year=1996 |title=Year-classes of pterosaurs from the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany: Taxonomic and Systematic Implications |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=432–444 |bibcode=1996JVPal..16..432B}}</ref> ''Pterodactylus antiquus'' was a relatively small pterosaur, with an estimated adult wingspan of about {{convert|1.04|m|ftin|sp=us}}, based on the only known adult specimen, which is represented by an isolated skull.<ref name=BennettPZ /> Other "species" were once thought to have been smaller.<ref name=Lydekker>{{cite book |last=Lydekker |first=Richard |year=1888 |title=Catalogue of Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia and Pterosauria |publisher=Taylor and Francis |pages=2–37 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/125711#page/1/mode/1up}}</ref> However, these smaller specimens have been shown to represent juveniles of ''Pterodactylus'', as well as its contemporary relatives including ''Ctenochasma'', ''[[Germanodactylus]]'', ''[[Aurorazhdarcho]]'', ''[[Gnathosaurus]]'', and hypothetically ''[[Aerodactylus]]'' if this genus is truly valid.<ref name ="bennett2002">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0043:STPOTC]2.0.CO;2 |author=Bennett, S.C. |year=2002 |title=Soft tissue preservation of the cranial crest of the pterosaur ''Germanodactylus'' from Solnhofen |jstor=4524192 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=43–48 |s2cid=86308635}}</ref>

The skulls of adult ''Pterodactylus'' were long and thin, with about 90 narrow and conical teeth. The teeth extended back from the tips of both jaws, and became smaller farther away from the jaw tips. This was unlike the ones seen in most relatives, where teeth were absent in the upper jaw tip and were relatively uniform in size. The teeth of ''Pterodactylus'' also extended farther back into the jaw compared to close relatives, and some were present below the front of the ''nasoantorbital fenestra'', which is the largest opening in the skull.<ref name=BennettPZ /> Another [[autapomorphy]] that ''Pterodactylus'' has is that the skull and jaws were straight, which are unlike the upwardly curved jaws seen in the related [[ctenochasmatid]]s.<ref name="jouve2004" />

[[File:Pterodactylus BMMS7 life.png|thumb|Life [[Paleoart|restoration]] of BMMS 7, the largest known ''Pterodactylus'' specimen. The shape of the soft tissue crest is based on the specimen BSP 1929 I 18]]
''Pterodactylus'', like related pterosaurs, had a crest on its skull composed mainly of soft tissues. In adult ''Pterodactylus'', this crest extended between the back edge of the [[antorbital fenestra]] and the back of the skull. In at least one specimen, the crest had a short bony base, also seen in related pterosaurs like ''Germanodactylus''. Solid crests have only been found on large, fully adult specimens of ''Pterodactylus'', indicating that this was a display structure that became larger and more well developed as individuals reached maturity.<ref name=BennettPZ>{{cite journal |year=2013 |title=New information on body size and cranial display structures of ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', with a revision of the genus |journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift |volume=87 |issue=2 |doi=10.1007/s12542-012-0159-8 |author=Bennett, S. Christopher |pages=269–289 |bibcode=2013PalZ...87..269B |s2cid=83722829}}</ref><ref name="frey&martill1998">{{Cite journal |last1=Frey |first1=E. |last2=Martill |first2=D.M. |year=1998 |title=Soft tissue preservation in a specimen of ''Pterodactylus kochi'' (Wagner) from the Upper Jurassic of Germany |journal=Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen |volume=210 |issue=3 |pages=421–441 |doi=10.1127/njgpa/210/1998/421}}</ref> In 2013, pterosaur researcher [[S. Christopher Bennett]] noted that other authors claimed that the soft tissue crest of ''Pterodactylus'' extended backward behind the skull; Bennett himself, however, didn't find any evidence for the crest extending past the back of the skull.<ref name=BennettPZ /> Two specimens of ''P. antiquus'' (the holotype specimen BSP AS I 739 and the incomplete skull BMMS 7, the largest known skull of ''P. antiquus'') have a low bony crest on their skulls; in BMMS 7 it is 47.5&nbsp;mm long (1.87 inches, more or less 24% of the estimated total length of its skull) and has a maximum height of 0.9&nbsp;mm (0.035 inches) above the orbit.<ref name=BennettPZ /> Several specimens previously referred to ''P. antiquus'' preserved evidence of the soft tissue extensions of these crests, including an "occipital lappet", a flexible, tab-like structure extending from the back of the skull. Most of these specimens have been reclassified in the related species ''Aerodactylus scolopaciceps'', which may however be nothing more than a junior synonym. Even if ''Aerodactylus'' were valid, at least one specimen with these features is still considered to belong to ''Pterodactylus'', BSP 1929 I 18, which has an occipital lappet similar to the proposed ''Aerodactylus'' definition, and also possesses a small triangular soft tissue crest with the peak of the crest positioned above the eyes.<ref name=BennettPZ />