Nyctosaurus
Dinosaur purists, look away now — today’s obscure prehistoric reptile is a late-Cretaceous pterosaur, Nyctosaurus. And what has it got on top of its head? Some sort of antennae? Horns? A novelty hat? Actually, that’s an antler.
Yes, that’s right — Nyctosaurus is a genus of pterosaur containing several (poorly delimited) species, at least some of which possessed an extraordinary antler-like crest. The name comes from the Greek words meaning “night/bat lizard”, because when it was discovered back in 1876, the fossilised skeleton apparently resembled that of a bat. Presumably, these early specimens must have been sub-adults, which lacked the massive crest. Full grown adults could have obtained a wingspan of over 2 metres, with crests measuring in at almost half a metre. Not very bat-like.
The crest may have had one or two possible functions. One suggestion is that Nyctosaurus had a large skin membrane stretched over the separate prongs, forming some sort of organic sail to assist with aerodynamics. However, the fossil evidence doesn’t particularly support this idea — there are no obvious marks indicating where or how the membrane may have attached.
An alternative suggestion is that the crest was for display purposes — in much the same way some modern animals grow elaborate ornaments in order to attract potential mates. If so, it is possible that as well as its impressive size and shape, the crest may also have been brightly coloured (in case it didn’t already stand out enough…)
TALKING POINT: While everyone was distracted by its outrageous head accessory, Nyctosaurus also had the audacity to ‘lose’ the wing claws that are present on all other pterosaurs. Without these useful climbing aids, it is speculated that Nyctosaurus probably spent the vast majority of its life airborne, as it would have been fairly useless when grounded.
FURTHER READING: If you’re curious as to how animals (both prehistoric and modern) can evolve such drastic display features, then you might like to give this paper by A. Zahavi a read or two.
