Pterosaur
Nyctosaurus
The validity of some of the species assigned to the genus remains disputed.
At least one species of Nyctosaurus bore a huge branching crest.
Three stages. One companion.
Game artwork
AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.
Nyctosaurus at a glance
- Diet
- Mainly fish
- Fish-eating is supported by its anatomy and fossil evidence from the group; this does not mean its diet was identical to that of every seabird.
- When it lived
- Cretaceous
- Group
- Nyctosauridae
- Nyctosaurids
- Fossil locations
- United States
- Places where fossils have been found
Beyond the game
The real Nyctosaurus
It inhabited an environment of shallow seas in the interior of North America. At least one species had an extraordinarily large and branched cranial crest.
The validity of some of the species assigned to the genus remains disputed. It lived in an environment of shallow seas where today we see the interior of North America. The ancient landscape helps to understand why fossils of animals linked to the sea appear there.
This grouping describes evolutionary relationships. Its members share ancestors; they do not form a chain in which one must turn into another.
Fossil discoveries
Selected fossil records · present-day map
Map references
Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: linked collections and publications.Sources & text credits
Explore the references behind this profile.
- Nyctosaurus
Wikipedia contributors · Spanish source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Nyctosaurus
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Nyctosauridae
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Birds and crocodilians
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
Educational text adapted in English from the existing Wikipedia-backed Dinosgacha catalogue and linked articles by Wikipedia contributors.
Existing English translations have been selected and arranged for this encyclopedia. Repeated period and diet text is omitted where those fields already carry it. Unknown facts remain unfilled; unreviewed geological age phrases are omitted and period labels replace numerical ages.
The adapted educational text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This text license does not apply to the game illustrations.