Cryodrakon fossil map
Where fossils of Cryodrakon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 75 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 75 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Pterosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 83.6–72.2 million years ago (Campanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Azhdarchidae |
| Named by | Hone et al. 2019 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Canada |
| Rock formations | Dinosaur Park |
About Cryodrakon
Cryodrakon is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the late Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Canada, around 76.7 and 74.3 million years ago. Starting in 1972, fossil remains of large azhdarchid pterosaurs have been reported from Alberta. Paleontologists assigned them to the genus Quetzalcoatlus, given that it was the only known azhdarchid from North America back then and because they had limited information about its actual remains, so they simply could not deduce anything different. In 1992, a partial pterosaur skeleton was uncovered in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta. It was partially described in 1995 by paleontologist Philip J. Currie and colleagues, with a subsequent and more complete description in 2005. But it was not until 2019 that it received a new genus and type species, Cryodrakon boreas, named and described by paleontologists David Hone, Michael Habib, and François Therrien. The partial skeleton was made the holotype specimen of this new pterosaur. Its generic name means "cold dragon" in Ancient Greek, in reference to its Canadian origin, while its specific name refers to the Greek god of the north winds, Boreas. All azhdarchid remains from the Dinosaur Park Formation were subsequently referred to Cryodrakon.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cryodrakon (revision 1363655833), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q67206352.
