
Computed tomography (CT) scan of the skull of Anhanguera, a 112-million-year-old pterosaur from Brazil.
Our pterosaur collection contains approximately 1,000 specimens and casts, from isolated incomplete bones to articulated skeletons on slabs.
British pterosaurs are well represented in the collection due to historic quarrying and collecting across the British Isles.
Specimens include:
- Dimorphodon macronyx from the Lower Lias Group (Hettangian-Sinemurian age)
- Rhamphocephalus from the Stonesfield Slate (Bathonian age)
- Ornithocheirids from the Cambridge Greensand (Cenomanian age) and the Chalk Group (Cenomanian-Turonian age) in southern and eastern England
One of the best-preserved specimens is Istiodactylus latidens from the Wealden Group (Lower Cretaceous). There are also a small number of specimens from the Gault Clay.
Although many specimens are from pyrite-bearing strata and are vulnerable to pyrite decay, the collection is maintained in very good condition.
The pterosaur collection is available for use in any legitimate research project. Recent work by external researchers includes computer modelling of biomechanical properties of pterosaur wing bones, and studies of how the group evolved.
Global coverage
Foreign material includes:
- Pteranodon and Nyctosaurus from the USA
- a skull of Anhanguera from Brazil, on display in the Museum
- Dorygnathus, Rhamphorhynchus and Pterodactylus from Germany
Looking for a specimen?
The Pterosaur collection is being digitised
Curator
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If you would like to use any specimens for research
Casts
We have high-quality casts of other museums’ important specimens, including:
- Ctenochasma elegans
- Gnathosaurus subulatus
- Pterodactylus antiquus
- Rhamphorhynchus muensteri
- Scaphognathus crassirostris
- Quetzalcoatlus sp
- Brasileodactylus araripensis
- Pterodaustro guinazui
- Dsungaripterus weii
- Sordes pilosus
Countries of origin
British Isles, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Tanzania, Congo, Argentina, Brazil, USA and Australia.
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Rhamphorhynchus specimen (NHMUK PV OR37002) from Germany. This is the biggest specimen of Rhamphorhynchus and was purchased from a German fossil dealer in 1862. It is the holotype of Rhamphorhynchus longiceps.
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Dimorphodon macronyx skull, Dorset, UK
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Dimorphodon macronyx holotype, collected by Mary Anning in Dorset, UK
Geological range
Our pterosaur collection does not include any material from the Triassic, but has specimens from most stages of the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Important historical collections
- Mary Anning Anning collected the holotype of Dimorphodon macronyx
Publications
Steel L (2013) The Pterosaur Collection at the Natural History Museum, London, UK: an Overview and List of Specimens, with Description of Recent Curatorial Developments. Acta Geologica Sinica 86: 1340-1355.
Related information

Accessing the collections
Scientists and collections management specialists can visit the collections and borrow specimens for research.
Collections management
Our duty is to provide a safe and secure environment for all of our collections.

Collections on the move
We have set out on an ambitious programme to develop a new science and digitisation centre. As we prepare for the move, access to some collections will be affected.
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