Harpactognathus fossil map
Where fossils of Harpactognathus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 145 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 145 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 | 152.21–145.06 million years ago (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Named by | Carpenter et al. 2003 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Morrison |
About Harpactognathus
Harpactognathus (meaning "seizing/grasping jaw") is a genus of pterosaur, a group of extinct flying reptiles, that lived during the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic period in what is now Wyoming, United States. Harpactognathus is confidently known from a single, incomplete rostrum (front of the skull) found in 1996 at the Bone Cabin Quarry, though an incomplete mandible (lower jaw bone) and humerus (upper arm bone) from the quarry have tentatively been referred to the genus. The rostrum was described by paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter and colleagues in 2003, who named the type and only known species, H. gentryii, after Joe Gentry, a volunteer for the Western Paleontological Laboratories in Lehi, Utah.
Harpactognathus is a large-sized pterosaur, with an estimated wingspan of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) and estimated complete skull length of 280–300 millimetres (11–12 in), making it among the largest known non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs. The rostrum of Harpactognathus is robust, broad, and wider than tall. On the midline of the skull is a premaxillary (front upper jaw bone) crest that may have been extended by soft tissues and used for sexual display or been sexually dimorphic. Due to a lack of remains, much of its anatomy is unknown and can only be inferred from related taxa.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Harpactognathus (revision 1368730211), 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: Q3493313.
