The pterosaurs (or “winged reptiles”) are a group of reptiles that appeared in the Late Triassic, about 220 million years ago, and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, 66 million years ago. These are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight, as opposed to just gliding. Their wings, which evolved from their forelimbs, were formed by a robust membrane (the patagium), supported by an extraordinarily long fourth finger. The wingspan ranged from 30 cm to about 15 m. In evolutionary terms, the pterosaurs are very close to dinosaurs and birds, but their evolutionary history is extremely fragmented. They are traditionally divided into two suborders: Pterodactyloidea and Rhamphorhynchoidea. The museum displays casts of pterodactyl bones and an original fossil specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri from Solnhofen (Germany), dating back to the Late Jurassic. The fossil specimen has a short skull with sharp teeth, a short neck and a long tail. It is estimated to have had a wingspan of about 90 cm and to have weighed around 500 g.
