Tupandactylus: The Brazilian flying reptile with a huge head crest

Tupandactylus comes from Brazil and is one of the most flamboyant pterosaurs in the museum: it carries a huge crest on its head, rather like a great flag hoisted above it. It lived during the Early Cretaceous and was a flying reptile — not a dinosaur and not a bird.

Its body

Tupandactylus has a long, toothless beak. Its most striking feature is the enormous crest on its head, built partly from bony supports and partly from soft tissue, sweeping up and back. What such a large crest was for is still being studied: some think it was for display or recognising members of the same species, others suggest it affected how the animal flew, but none of these ideas is yet direct evidence.

One study, based on a nearly complete adult specimen, estimated a wingspan of about 2.7 metres. Despite the heavy crest, the animal could still fly short distances, though a big crest may have made it better at gliding than at non-stop flapping.

Where it lived and what it ate

Ideas about its diet differ: some research suggests it fed on plants, while others suggest fish or small animals. These ideas have not yet been confirmed by direct evidence such as stomach contents or coprolites, so it is safest to treat the diet as "not yet known".

Where its fossils were found

Tupandactylus fossils come from the Crato Formation in north-eastern Brazil. That layer preserves outstanding pterosaur bones and other fossils and is a celebrated source for studying the Early Cretaceous.

What the fossils tell us — and what they do not

The skeleton reveals the supports of the crest and the approximate wingspan, but the soft-tissue shape of the crest, the pattern of the wing membrane, the body colour and exactly how it flapped are evidence-informed reconstructions. Think of them as a way of bringing the fossil to life, not a photograph.

A note for grown-ups

You could ask a child: "Would such a big crest make flying tiring?" Encouraging a child to weigh whether an explanation works — "could it really manage that?" — is a great way to practise thinking like a scientist.