Leptostomia fossil map
Where fossils of Leptostomia have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 100 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 100 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 | 100.5–93.9 million years ago (Cenomanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Named by | Smith et al. 2020 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Morocco |
| Rock formations | Ifezouane |
About Leptostomia
Leptostomia (lit. 'slim mouth') is an extinct genus of pterosaur that lived during the Cenomanian and possibly Albian stages of the ?Early-Late Cretaceous period in what is now Morocco, North Africa. Leptostomia is known from only two isolated rostrum (beak) fragments. In 2021, paleontologist Roy E. Smith and colleagues named the type and only known species, Leptostomia begaaensis, based on these fossils. Leptostomia is a small pterosaur, with the complete skull length estimated between 6 and 20 centimeters (2.4 and 7.9 in), making it much smaller than many contemporary pterosaurs. The beak of Leptostomia is remarkably long, narrow, and compressed from the top down, a morphology unseen in any other known pterosaur.
Due to a lack of remains, the exact classification of Leptostomia is uncertain; it has been recovered in various positions within Azhdarchoidea, a group of edentulous (toothless) pterodactyloid pterosaurs. Leptostomia has been proposed to have a similar lifestyle to probe sensing birds like sandpipers and sanderlings due to its beak anatomy and paleoenvironment.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Leptostomia (revision 1341944475), 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: Q99420621.
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