1.7" Fossil Pterosaur (Pteranodon) Phalange Section- Kansas

Fossil Pterosaur (Pteranodon) Phalange Section- Kansas #115209

This is a 1.7" long pterosaur (Pteranodon) phalange (finger/wing bone) section from the Smokey Hill Chalk in Gove County, Kansas. It is deformed from the preservation process but is in good condition. This is the proximal end of a bone in the claw on the wing. It is analogous to a finger bone in humans

Pteranodon is a genus of pterosaurs that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, reaching wingspans of over 6 meters (20 feet). They lived during the Late Cretaceous of North America in present-day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Pteranodon was designated as the official Kansas state flying fossil in 2014. Crucially, pterosaurs like Pteranodon are not dinosaurs: pterosaurs evolved to fly, while dinosaurs were only terrestrial animals.

An artist's rendition of a flying Pteranodon. By Nobu Tamura (www.palaeocritti.com)

A reconstructed Pteranodon skeleton.

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil-rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. It outcrops in parts of northwest Kansas--its most famous localities for fossils--and in southeastern Nebraska. Large, well-known fossils excavated from the Smoky Hill Chalk include marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, large bony fish such as Xiphactinus, mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and turtles.