Santanan Old-Devil


Anhanguera santanae

(Campos & Kellner, 1985)

    In the middle Cretaceous, the South America and Africa, once part of the great southern continent Gondwana, have now begun to separate, and the rift between them, the future south Atlantic, is a narrow, salty ribbon of water, warm and teeming with fish.  It is no surprise therefore, that the east coast of South America is host of an enormous variety of fish-eating pterosaurs, one of which is Anhanguera santanae.

    Like all large fliers, A. santanae is built to soar.  With a wingspan of over four meters in length this pterosaur catches the thermals rising from the warm ocean water, using their lift to gain altitude while it uses the membranes stretched across its legs to steer and to stabilize itself.  Upon spotting the glimmer of a shoal of fish or other small marine animals, the A. santanae swoops down, its head lowered, the triangular keel on its lower jaw beak angled into the water.  Mouth open, tiny needle-like teeth bared to the water, the A. santane skims across the surface of the sea.  As it snares a fish, the pterosaur bites down and snaps its head down, gaining another few fractions of a second to get a firm grip on the fish while the keel on its upper jaw cuts through the water, stabilizing the still air-born predator.  An adjustment of wings and legs and the A. santane catches the thermals and rises again, now with its meal safely ensnared in its jaws.

Other sites containing pertinent information:

  • T. Mike Keesey'sAnhanguera page (with an illustration by yours truly) (new page)

  • Dinodata Anhanguera

  • John Conway's wonderful Anhanguera skeletal reconstruction

  •     Cool diagram of Anhaguera's membranes

  • Dino-Nakasato Tupuxuara, Anhanguera, Tapejara
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs, by Dr. Peter Wellnhofer, published in 1991 by Salamander Bookd Limited.

    • © Daniel Bensen 2004

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