New crested specimens of the Late Cretaceous pterosaurNyctosaurus

Abstract

Two recently collected specimens of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Nyctosaurus differ from all previously known specimens in the possession of a large branching cranial crest. The crest extends upward and backward from the posterior skull roof and is nearly three times the length of the skull proper. Despite the large crest, the specimens do not differ significantly in morphology from previously known specimens of Nyctosaurus, and do not seem to represent a new species of Nyctosaurus. The specimens suggest that the cranial crest was developed late in ontogeny, which is consistent with the interpretation of pterosaur cranial crests as intraspecific display structures.