page_title: Aerodactylus
section_title: History and disputed status
hierarchical_section_title: Aerodactylus / History and disputed status
caption_attribution_description: English: A fossil specimen of the pterosaur species Aerodactylus scolopaciceps (BSP 1883 XVI 1), which preserves the remains of a soft-tissue head crest. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license. You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). This file was published in a Public Library of Science journal. Their&#160;website states that the content of all PLOS journals is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, unless indicated otherwise. Previously, PLOS used the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license. čeština&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| français&#160;| italiano&#160;| 日本語&#160;| македонски&#160;| Nederlands&#160;| polski&#160;| slovenščina&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: Aerodactylus is a pterosaur genus containing a single species, Aerodactylus scolopaciceps, previously regarded as a species of Pterodactylus.
  The fossil remains of this species have been found only in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany, dated to the late Jurassic Period, about 150.8–148.5 million years ago. Like all pterosaurs, the wings of Aerodactylus were formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibres and externally by keratinous ridges. Several well preserved fossils have shown that Aerodactylus was covered in a short, dense coat of bristly pycnofibres, and that it had a rounded triangular crest on its head, as well as a backward-pointing lappet. It is named after the Pokémon Aerodactyl. The validity of Aerodactylus has been disputed, with some pterosaur experts suggesting that none of the specimens referred to this genus are distinguishable from Pterodactylus.
context_section_description: In 1850 Hermann von Meyer described the specimen now known by its collection number BSP AS V 29 a/b as a new specimen of Pterodactylus longirostris. Pterodactylus longirostris is a junior synonym of Ornithocephalus antiquus, but Pterodactylus replaced Ornithocephalus through popular use. The specimen BSP AS V 29 a/b was discussed again in Meyer's  Fauna der Vorwelt (1860), this time under the name Pterodactylus scolopaciceps. Both Zittel and Wagner took exception to Meyer's new species and it was synonymized with P. kochi in 1883. Broili described a second specimen and used the name P. scolopaciceps, confident that it was a valid species. However, the name slipped into obscurity and Wellnhofer considered it a junior synonym of P. kochi. In 2013 P. kochi was reviewed by Bennet and synonymised with P. antiquus. Vidovic and Martill disagreed with the findings of Bennett and considered the content of P. kochi to be paraphyletic. When Vidovic and Martill separated P. scolopaciceps from P. kochi they considered it so distinct they gave it the genus name Aerodactylus, formed from the Greek words for "wind finger", but chosen in reference to the Pokémon Aerodactyl, which was based on an amalgamation of different pterosaurian features.
  In 2018 pterosaur researcher Christopher Bennett challenged the status of Aerodactylus on several grounds: 1) that the alleged skull features are only trivially different from those seen in Pterodactylus; 2) that the specimens referred to Aerodactylus have an unusual growth regime compared to other Solnhofen pterodactyloids, suggesting that Vidovic and Martill had grouped an unnatural assemblage of specimens; and 3) that no evidence had been presented to rule out effects of preservation or individual variation on the slight differences between Aerodactylus and Pterodactylus. Bennett concluded that Aerodactylus scolopaciceps is a junior synonym of Pterodactylus antiquus.
caption: Specimen preserving a soft-tissue head crest and lappet (BSP 1883 XVI 1).
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