Scientific American has a story about the largest pterosaur ever found.  It has been nicknamed “Dracula”.  It lived during the Cretaceous period. At 3.5 meters tall, it was the size of a giraffe.  It is on display at the Altmuhltal Dinosaur Museum in Denkendorf, Germany.  The bones were discovered by Romanian scientists in 2009 among the hills and rock structure near a small town called Sebes in Romania’s Translyvania region.

Unlike bats, which have three fingers embedded in their wings and one free digit for climbing, pterosaurs had one elongated finger that formed the front edge of each wing and three exposed digits for running and climbing. Some earlier species had tails that scientists believe were used to help maneuver, but these disappeared as the pterosaurs evolved into more graceful flyers.

Researchers are not sure whether pterosaurs this size could actually fly. According to the exhibit’s introductory information there is no conclusive evidence to the contrary, but Dracula has a wrist joint that differs greatly from that of other species that have been found, which could mean it was not meant for flight. But if it did fly, Dracula would have been quite a sight (and probably sound): a small-aircraft-sized animal circling the skies, throwing giant shadows over land-dwellers below.