Smallest pterodactyl

Pterodactyls were (mostly) toothless pterosaurs (prehistoric flying reptiles), the smallest known species of which is presently the forest pterosaur Nemicolopterus crypticus, which was formally described in 2008. Discovered in the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (dating to around 120 million years ago) in Yaolugou, Jianchang County, Huludao City, in China’s western Liaoning Province, its remains yield a near-complete skeleton of a sub-adult specimen. It revealed that this tiny species sported a wingspan of just under 25 cm, comparable to a sparrow’s, and weighed a mere 30-50 g. Recently, some palaeontologists have suggested that this currently unique fossil specimen may actually comprise a juvenile of another pterosaur, Sinopterus.