Mounted and Framed Pterosaur (Pteranodon) Bones - Kansas

This is a really cool 23.7" wide plate of pterosaur (Pteranodon) bones collected from the Smoky Hill Chalk in Gove County, Kansas. The bones include a 10.6" long humerus, a 22" long proximal phalanx, and a 1.4" long distal phalanx. They have been mounted into a false rock matrix and framed. The frame measures 25.25 x 10.55" and has wall hanging hardware installed on the back.

Due to the fragile nature of these bones, each has some crack repair and gap fill restoration, with the majority of the restoration to the humerus. They have been stabilized and sealed to prevent further breakage.

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.

An artist's rendition of a flying Pteranodon. By Nobu Tamura (www.palaeocritti.com)

A reconstructed Pteranodon skeleton.

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.

SPECIES

Pteranodon sp.

AGE

Cretaceous (~70 million years)