Fun Nemicolopterus Facts For Kids

The Nemicolopterus was a small pterosaur whose fossil was dated back to the Early Cretaceous period of the Aptian age, 120 million years ago. The genus name is derived from a Greek word and divided into segments with different meanings for each, such as 'Nemos' means 'forest', 'Ikolos' means 'dweller', and 'Petron' means 'wing'. While their type species name, Crypticus, means 'hidden'. Thus, the complete meaning of the name Nemicolopterus crypticus means 'Hidden flying forest dweller with wings'.

The discovery of a rare flying reptile or flying forest dweller fossils was from the Jiufotang Formation, China. The pterodactyloid pterosaur was believed to live in Jehol Biota and was discovered in the Liaoning Province of northeastern China. These species were frequently misidentified as flying dinosaurs, but they do not belong to the dinosaur clade. They come under the class of Pterosauria, which is a classification category of flying reptiles and not dinosaurs.

The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China has reserved the fossil specimen of the pterosaur, Nemicolopterus crypticus, with the name IVPP V-14377. The discovery of the type species was given to the paleontologist group named Wang X, Kellner AWA, Campos, and Zhou Z in the year 2008. According to the academy of sciences, the bones of these pterosaurs had gone through the process of ossification.

If you enjoyed reading this article about the flying reptile, Nemicolopterus facts, then do read some other interesting and surprising fun facts about other species such as Peteinosaurus and Scaphognathus.

Was the Nemicolopterus a dinosaur?

No, Nemicolopterus was not a dinosaur, it was a small flying reptile of the Early Cretaceous period. The Nemicolopterus comes in the category of pterosaurs which was a classification order of flying reptiles that were considered a primitive type of flying reptile with wide wingspan and toothless snout or beak.

How do you pronounce 'Nemicolopterus'?

The pronunciation for the word Nemicolopterus is 'Neh-me-co-lop-ter-us'.

What type of prehistoric flying bird was a Nemicolopterus?

The Nemicolopterus crypticus was a small flying reptile of the Early Cretaceous period that existed during the Aptian age, 125-120 million years ago. They belonged to the class of Sauropsida, and the order of Pterosauria. These animals belonged to the families of Tapejaromorpha and Dsungaripteroidea. Still, the classification of the family is not done completely and it has yet to be ranked among the above two families. The name Nemicolopterus is a pterosaur genus that has a type species named Nemicolopterus crypticus. In the year 2008, a paleontologist group named Wang X, Kellner AWA, Campos, and Zhou Z discovered the species and named them according to these animals specimen recovered from the site. 

In which geological period did the Nemicolopterus live?

According to the Academy of Sciences, these pterosaurs roamed the earth during the Early Cretaceous period of the Aptian age, 125-120 million years ago. 

When did the Nemicolopterus become Extinct?

The genus Nemicolopterus became Extinct by the end of the Early Cretaceous period.

Where did a Nemicolopterus live?

These pterosaur animals were considered to be the discovery of a rare species in the locality of northeastern China in Liaoning Province. The Nemicolopterus fossil was discovered in the Jiufotang Formation. The western Liaoning Province included the locality of Yaolugou town, Huludao city, and Jianchang County, etc. The fossil specimen of the pterosaur Nemicolopterus crypticus has been designated as IVPP V-14377 by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China.

What was a Nemicolopterus's habitat?

It is believed that during the Early Cretaceous period in northeastern China, there used to be a lot of volcanic activity which could either make the environment cold or humid depending upon the seasons. The sediment crust was thick and a lot of climatic variation took place during the period. Thus, these pterosaurs must have lived a hard life in search of food, like small insects, and lived their lives in the upper canopy of a tree.

Who did a Nemicolopterus live with?

There is not much information available in regard to these pterodactyloid pterosaurs living in a group or solitude, but they shared their habitat with other pterosaurs such as Sinopterus and Huaxiapterus. 

How long did the Nemicolopterus live?

These pterosaurs lived 125-120 million years ago during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous period. The exact length of their lifespan, however, is not known.

How did they reproduce?

According to the Academy of Sciences, these pterosaurs must have reproduced by laying eggs and leaving them behind without parental care. The new hatchling or flapling took care of their own. According to Darren Naish, they were considered Sinopterus offspring. The eggs would have been laid in clutches and the number of each clutch would have varied. 

What did a Nemicolopterus look like?.

The Nemicolopterus was a small pterosaur who wings and could fly in the air. The pterosaur fossils that were recovered give us information that these creatures go through the process of ossification where the soft bone is replaced by solid bone. The postcranial skeleton of these pterosaurs was complete. They had gastralia, sternum, and toes which were also ossified and indicated that they would have been of a sub-adult and not of a hatchling. They had colorful feathers and a conical toothless beak to pick up the insects and worms they searched for their diet. Their front limbs were robust and their hind limbs were short. The first wing and finger of N. crypticus were missing. They had large heads in comparison to their body.

How many bones did a Nemicolopterus have?

The exact number of bones in these pterosaurs has not been evaluated and is unknown to the world. Only the complete postcranial skeleton of N. crypticus was discovered at the site, and the specimen for the same is reserved at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China.

How did they communicate?

The communication of these pterosaurs is unknown, but in general, they must have communicated using vocal and tactile cues, such as using feathers to show dominance while mating and vocals when they sensed danger from their predators.

How big was the Nemicolopterus?

The Nemicolopterus fossil was 10 in (25 cm) long in length.

How fast could a Nemicolopterus move?

The exact flying speed of these species is not evaluated and is unknown to the world. Scientists like Zhou and Kellner are still working on the fossils recovered.

How much did a Nemicolopterus weigh?

Similar to the Nemicolopterus size, the weight of these species along with their ossified bone structure was 1.8-3.5 oz (50-100 g).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and female species of N. crypticus were known by their generic names and no specific name was given to either sex.

What would you call a baby Nemicolopterus?

The baby of N. crypticus is known as a hatchling.

What did they eat?

These tiny pterosaurs were insectivorous. The food diet search consisted of small insects, worms, and sometimes small fish, depending upon the food availability.

How aggressive were they?

There is not much information available in regard to their behavior. As they were less involved in parental care, they must not have been aggressive and can be regarded as carefree, tiny flying reptiles. Scientists such as Zhou, Campos, and Kellner have not given details about their expected behavior.

Did you know...

The N. crypticus had a short medial nasal process that was inverted like a knife shape and had a deltopectoral crest in the humerus.

These pterosaur specimens are encased in a sedimentary rock slab of siltstones and mudstones.

Why are they called Nemicolopterus?

The genus name is derived from a Greek word and divided into segments with different meanings, such as 'Nemos' means 'forest', 'Ikolos' means 'dweller', and 'Petron' means 'wing'. Crypticus, their type species name, means 'hidden'. As a matter of fact, the full name Nemicolopterus crypticus means 'hidden flying forest dweller with wings'.

How many specimens of Nemicolopterus were discovered?

The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China, has labeled a fossil specimen of the pterosaur Nemicolopterus crypticus as IVPP V-14377. Only one specimen of this species has so far been recovered.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly prehistoric animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Sordes fun facts, or Muzquizopteryx facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Nemicolopterus coloring pages.