Editing Pteranodon (section)

==Description==
[[Image:Pteranodon scale.png|thumb|Size of ''P. longiceps'' male (green) and female (orange) compared with a human|left]]

=== Body size and sexual dimorphism ===
Adult male ''Pteranodon'' were among the largest pterosaurs, and were the largest flying animals known until the late 20th century, when the giant [[azhdarchid]] pterosaurs were discovered. The wingspan of an average adult male ''Pteranodon'' was {{cvt|5.6|m|ft|sp=us}}. Adult females were much smaller, averaging {{cvt|3.8|m|ft|sp=us}} in wingspan.<ref name="bennett1994niobrara">{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=S.C. |year=1994 |title=The Pterosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk |journal=The Earth Scientist |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=22–25}}</ref> A large specimen of ''Pteranodon longiceps'', USNM 50130, is estimated to have a wingspan of {{cvt|6.25|-|6.5|m|ft|sp=us}}, body length of {{cvt|2.6|m|ft}} and body mass of {{cvt|50|kg|lbs}}.<ref name="bennett1994niobrara" /><ref name="bennett2001" /><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Larramendi, A. |author2=Paul, G.S. |author3=Hsu, S.-Y. |year=2021 |title=A review and reappraisal of the specific gravities of present and past multicellular organisms, with an emphasis on tetrapods |journal=The Anatomical Record |volume=304 |issue=9 |pages=1833–1888 |doi=10.1002/ar.24574 |pmid=33258532 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="G.S.Paul2022">{{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Gregory S. |title=The Princeton Field Guide to Pterosaurs |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9780691232218 |pages=170–172 |doi=10.1515/9780691232218 |s2cid=249332375}}</ref> Even larger specimens had wingspans of {{cvt|7.25|-|7.6|m|ft}}.<ref name="bennett1994niobrara" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Witton |first=Mark Paul |date=2010 |title=Pteranodon and beyond: The history of giant pterosaurs from 1870 onwards |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258391482 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=343 |issue=1 |pages=313–323 |bibcode=2010GSLSP.343..313W |doi=10.1144/SP343.19 |s2cid=128801077 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Size aside, females were distinguished by their short, rounded head crests and wide pelvic canals, whereas males had narrow hips and very large head crests, likely serving a display function.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="bennett1992" />

Methods used to estimate the mass of large male ''Pteranodon'' specimens (those with wingspans of about 7 meters) have been notoriously unreliable, producing a wide range of estimates. In a review of pterosaur size estimates published in 2010, [[Mark P. Witton|Mark Witton]] and Michael Habib argued that the largest estimate of {{Convert|93|kg|lb|abbr=on}} is much too high and an upper limit of {{Convert|20–35|kg|lb|abbr=on}} is more realistic. Witton and Habib considered the methods used by researchers who obtained smaller mass estimates equally flawed. Most have been produced by scaling modern animals such as bats and birds up to ''Pteranodon'' size, despite the fact that pterosaurs have vastly different body proportions and soft tissue anatomy from any living animal.<ref name="flight_size" />

===Skull and beak===
[[File:Pteranodon AMNH.jpg|left|thumb|Skull and beak of specimen AMNH 7515]]
Unlike earlier pterosaurs, such as ''[[Rhamphorhynchus (pterosaur)|Rhamphorhynchus]]'' and ''[[Pterodactylus]]'', ''Pteranodon'' had toothless [[beak]]s, similar to those of [[bird]]s. ''Pteranodon'' beaks were made of solid, bony margins that projected from the base of the jaws. The beaks were long, slender, and ended in thin, sharp points. The upper jaw, which was longer than the lower jaw, was curved upward; while this normally has been attributed only to the upward-curving beak, one specimen (UALVP 24238) has a curvature corresponding with the beak widening towards the tip. While the tip of the beak is not known in this specimen, the level of curvature suggests it would have been extremely long. The unique form of the beak in this specimen led [[Alexander Kellner]] to assign it to a distinct genus, ''[[Dawndraco]]'', in 2010.<ref name=kellner2010>{{Cite journal|author=Kellner, A.W.A. |year=2010 |title=Comments on the Pteranodontidae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) with the description of two new species |url=http://www.scielo.br/pdf/aabc/v82n4/25.pdf |journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=1063–1084 |doi=10.1590/S0001-37652010000400025|pmid=21152777 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The most distinctive characteristic of ''Pteranodon'' is its cranial crest. These crests consisted of skull bones (frontals) projecting upward and backward from the skull. The size and shape of these crests varied due to a number of factors, including age, sex, and species. Male ''Pteranodon sternbergi'', the older species of the two described to date, had a more vertical crest with a broad forward projection, while their descendants, ''Pteranodon longiceps'', evolved a narrower, more backward-projecting crest.<ref name=bennett2000/> Females of both species were smaller and bore small, rounded crests.<ref name=bennett1994/> The crests were probably mainly display structures, though they may have had other functions as well.<ref name=bennett1992/>[[image:Pteranodon longiceps mmartyniuk wiki.png|thumb|Life restoration of an adult male ''P. longiceps'' in flight]]

=== Postcranial skeleton ===
The [[Vertebra|neural spines]] of ''Pteranodon''<nowiki/>'s vertebrae were narrow.<ref name="bennett1987">Bennett, S. C. (1987). "New evidence on the tail of the pterosaur ''Pteranodon'' (Archosauria: Pterosauria)." Pp. 18–23 in Currie, P. J. and E. H. Koster (eds.), Fourth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems, Short Papers. Occasional Papers of the Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, #3.</ref> Like many pterosaurs and birds, it possessed a [[notarium]], a fused mass comprising the first six [[Thoracic vertebrae|dorsal vertebrae]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=S. Christopher |date=2001-01-30 |title=The Osteology and Functional Morphology of the Late Cretaceous Pterosaur Pteranodon Part I. General Description of Osteology |url=http://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/pala/detail/260/100954/The_Osteology_and_Functional_Morphology_of_the_Lat?af=crossref |journal=Palaeontographica Abteilung A |language=en |volume=260 |issue=1–6 |pages=1–112 |doi=10.1127/pala/260/2001/1 |bibcode=2001PalAA.260....1B |issn=0375-0442}}</ref> Similarly, the first few ribs were fused.<ref name="kellner2010" /> The [[Hip bone|pelvic bones]] were fused to the [[synsacrum]], a mass of vertebrae that included at least two [[Thoracic vertebrae|dorsal vertebrae]],<ref name="bennett1992" /> the [[Sacrum|sacral vertebrae]], and the first [[Vertebra|caudal vertebra]].<ref name="kellner2010" /> The sacrals were strengthened by bony ligaments. Beyond the synsacrum, the tail was relatively short, and the last few vertebrae were fused into a bony rod. The entire length of the tail was about 3.5% as long as the wingspan, or up to {{convert|25|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} in the largest males.<ref name="bennett1987" /> 

''Pteranodon''<nowiki/>'s [[Scapula|scapulae]] were oriented in such a way that each one braces the other, due to their fusion with the [[Coracoid|coracoids]], providing increased integrity during flight.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Marsh |first=Othniel Charles |date=1876 |title=Principal characters of American pterodactyls |journal=American Journal of Science |series=Series 3 |volume=12 |issue=72 |pages=479–480|doi=10.2475/ajs.s3-12.72.479 |bibcode=1876AmJS...12..479M }}</ref> The [[Humerus|humeri]] were extremely robust, with large, curved [[Humerus|deltopectoral crests]]. The [[Radius (bone)|radius]] and [[ulna]] were similarly robust.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Martin-Silverstone |first=Elizabeth |date=2016 |title=Redescription of Dawndraco kanzai Kellner, 2010 and reassignment of the type specimen to Pteranodon sternbergi Harksen, 1966 |url=https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/28721 |journal=Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology |language=en |volume=3 |doi=10.18435/B5059J |issn=2292-1389|doi-access=free }}</ref> The first three [[Metacarpal bones|metacarpals]] were very slender,<ref name=":2" /> and their respective digits sported short, curved [[Ungual|unguals]] (claws).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> ''Pteranodon''<nowiki/>'s hind feet had four [[Metatarsal bones|metatarsals]], which were tipped with less curved claws.<ref name=":2" />