Category:Pterosauria

Pter`o*sau"ri*a, n. pl. Etym: [nl.] (paleon.)

Defn: an extinct order of flying reptiles of the mesozoic age; the Pterodactyls; -- called also pterodactyli, and ornithosauria.

Note: the wings were formed, like those of bats, by a leathery Expansion of the skin, principally supported by the greatly enlarged Outer or " little" fingers of the hands. The american cretaceous Pterodactyls had no teeth. See pteranodontia, and pterodactyl.