Arthur Smith Woodward

“ Their bones are of very light, though strong construction, and hollow like those of flying birds, with well-fitting articulations, quite different from those of ordinary reptiles. The head is large and remarkably bird-like in shape, while it is fixed on the neck at the same angle as in birds. The brain is small, but resembles that of birds in its general conformation. ”

“ The forelimbs are always a pair of wings, the fifth digit or “little” finger being enormously elongated for the support of a smooth flying membrane (seen in specimens from the lithographic stone of Bavaria) . The wings are thus constructed on the same plan as those of a bat, but instead of four fingers, only one is elongated to bear the membrane. The hind-limbs are comparatively feeble, and must have been of very little use for walking.
The remains of pterodactyles are found chiefly in marine deposits, so that these reptiles must have frequented the coastlines. ”

“ They probably fed partly on fish, partly on insects; but no traces of food have hitherto been observed within the fossil skeletons. The oldest satisfactorily known member of the group is Dimorphodon from the Lower Lias of Dorsetshire. The typical species has a skull about 20 centim. ”