2.5" Fossil Pterosaur (Pteranodon) Bone in Rock - Kansas

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.

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.