Ludodactylus

pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian stage) of what is now the Crato Formation of the Araripe Basin in Ceará, Brazil. The type and only species is L. sibbicki. The generic name Ludodactylus refers to the fact that the animal had the combination of teeth and a Pteranodon-like head crest, similar to many toy pterosaurs, and no such creature was known to exist until the discovery of Ludodactylus. However, Ludodactylus is not the only pterosaur known to possess these features, its very close relative Caulkicephalus is another example.^[1]

paleoartist John Sibbick.^[2]

rami of the mandible is a yucca leaf; Frey suggested that the animal got it caught in its beak and unsuccessfully tried to dislodge it (the edge of the leaf is frayed), and then possibly died from starvation or a complication of starving. The skull would have been more than 66 centimeters (26 in) long.^[2]

anhanguerids than to Brasileodactylus. In the analysis of Andres and colleagues, Ludodactylus is classified just outside Ornithocheiridae and Anhangueridae as a derived member of the more inclusive group Anhangueria. Their cladogram is shown on the left.^[3] In 2020, a different topology by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pêgas recovered Ludodactylus within the family Anhangueridae, more specifically to the subfamily Anhanguerinae, sister taxon to both Caulkicephalus and Guidraco. This proves that it is indeed very closely related to the anhanguerids. Their cladogram is shown on the right.^[4]