Editing Pteranodon (section)

===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]]