What was the pterodactyl dinosaur?

The pterodactyl was a winged reptile of the Jurassic period that lived roughly 150 million years ago. As the term "dinosaur" generally refers to creatures walking upright on two or four feet, and the pterodactyl flew or waddled on its back legs, the animal is actually a pterosaur.

The name of the specimen comes from the combination of the Greek words for "wing" and "finger." Pterodactyls flew using wings that stretched from their bodies to an elongated fourth finger and had a wingspan stretching roughly 3 feet. The birds used their long beaks, which were filled with roughly 90 teeth, to prey on a variety of fish.