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pterodactyl

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

pter·o·dac·tyl

(tĕr'ə-dăk'təl) pronunciation
n.
Any of various small, mostly tailless, extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria that existed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

[New Latin Pterodactylus, genus name : Greek pteron, feather, wing; see -pter + Greek daktulos, finger.]

pterodactyloid pter'o·dac'ty·loid' adj.
pterodactylous pter'o·dac'ty·lous adj.

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Any member of the pterosaur suborder Pterodactyloidea, known from Late Jurassic and Cretaceous fossils (159 – 65 million years ago) in eastern Africa and Europe. Members of the typical genus, Pterodactylus, ranged from the size of a sparrow to that of an albatross. Pterodactyls had slender, delicate teeth that were angled forward (possibly for use as straining devices), long metacarpal bones, and a short tail. They were probably able gliders but not efficient as active fliers, and they apparently lacked feathers. Unlike the archaeopteryx, the pterodactyl was not an ancestor of the birds.

For more information on pterodactyl, visit Britannica.com.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

pterodactyl

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pterodactyl (tĕrədăk'tĭl), popular term for a pterosaur.


Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'pterodactyl'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to pterodactyl, see:

Translations:

Pterodactyl

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - flyveøgle

Nederlands (Dutch)
pterodactylus (bepaald uitgestorven vliegend reptiel)

Français (French)
n. - ptérodactyle

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pterodaktylus, Flugfinger

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) πτεροδάκτυλος

Italiano (Italian)
pterodattilo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pterodáctilo (m)

Русский (Russian)
птеродактиль

Español (Spanish)
n. - pterodáctilo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - flygödla (zool.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
翼龙

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 翼手龍

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 익수룡

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 翼手竜

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حيوان طائر منقرض‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פטרודקטיל - זוחל מעופף קדום ממשפחת הפטרוסאורים‬


 
 
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Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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