Editing Pteranodon (section)

=== 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" />