Anhanguera: a crested pterosaur from Brazil

Anhanguera was a large toothed pterosaur of the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation in north-eastern Brazil. Its long jaws carried conical teeth, and a bony crest rose near the front of the snout. Three-dimensional skulls make it one of the best-known anhanguerids, while differences between specimens have also produced a complicated history of species names.

The Romualdo fossils came from limestone concretions in the Araripe Basin. Mineralisation often kept skulls three-dimensional rather than flattening them, preserving useful detail in the palate, tooth rows and crest. Coastal lagoons and connected waterways accumulated fish, invertebrates and pterosaurs. A marine burial setting does not mean that Anhanguera lived in the water.

Evidence note

The bones support a fish-catching pterosaur with a prominent crest. They do not preserve the crest's colour, a particular meal or a single confirmed display behaviour.

Quick facts

How the genus was named

Diogenes de Almeida Campos and Alexander Kellner named Anhanguera in 1985 for the Brazilian species A. blittersdorffi. The name comes from Tupi and is commonly rendered as “old devil”; it is a name, not evidence about temperament. Several other species have since been referred to the genus.

The front of the upper jaw widened and carried a crest beginning close to the snout tip. Some specimens also have a corresponding keel on the lower jaw. Together these structures make a distinctive profile. Other pterosaurs from the Araripe Basin also had anterior crests, but their palate, teeth and crest proportions differed.

Jaws, teeth and likely food

The snout was long and narrow, widening somewhat at the front. The first teeth were relatively large and projected forward or sideways; the teeth farther back were smaller. When the jaws closed, the rows could trap moving prey. The conical crowns lacked the cutting serrations of many predatory dinosaurs and were suited to gripping rather than slicing.

Fish-eating is a strong functional interpretation, not a complete menu. Other small aquatic animals may also have been taken. The jaws cannot show the proportion of each food type, and stomach contents are not available for every referred specimen. Comparisons across pterosaurs show how different kinds of tooth and beak can suggest different feeding mechanics.

Size and flight

Large Anhanguera are commonly assigned wingspans around four to five metres. Estimates scale preserved wing bones against more complete pterosaur skeletons. The skull and wing are not joined in every specimen, so the range should not be read as a measurement from one complete individual.

The body was compact, and the greatly elongated fourth finger supported the wing membrane. Thin-walled bones reduced skeletal mass while internal struts helped resist loads. Pterosaurs could take off using their forelimbs as well as their hind limbs; the exact launch sequence of Anhanguera is not preserved. A forceful beak-first dive into water would have placed substantial resistance on the long jaws and neck, so dramatic plunge-diving scenes need caution.

On land, pterosaurs walked on all fours, with the wing finger folded. Trackways support this posture for the group, although no trackway can be assigned specifically to Anhanguera. Flight was active, not simply passive gliding. Updrafts could help it travel above open country, but the fossils do not record a particular route or hunting manoeuvre.

Growth and reproduction

The changing crest proportions across the available skulls show that head shape shifted as the animal grew. This helps explain why crest size alone is not a secure species test. It does not provide an exact age for each individual or settle whether adult males and females differed. Sex is not identified for the specimens.

Eggs and embryos are known from other pterosaurs, but no nest or egg clutch has been securely associated with Anhanguera. Claims about its nesting site, parental care or age at first breeding go beyond the available fossils. The limestone concretions preserve the bones and some body outlines, not a life history.

Species and classification

Names associated with the genus have included A. blittersdorffi, A. piscator, A. santanae and A. araripensis. Some were based on incomplete jaws, and comparisons are difficult because the crest changed as the skull grew. A 2017 revision treated several names, including A. santanae, A. araripensis and A. robustus, as doubtful because their differences could not be separated reliably from growth or variation.

A. piscator is retained within Anhanguera in some studies and placed in another genus in others. The genus belongs to Anhangueridae within Anhangueria, but the exact membership of smaller subgroups changes between phylogenetic analyses. The pterosaur catalogue places it beside other Brazilian and Cretaceous forms without treating every similar jaw as the same species.

What remains reconstructed

The skull, teeth and crest are directly fossil-supported. A fish-rich diet is a well-grounded inference, while display function, exact hunting technique and social behaviour are not observed directly. Pterosaur body coverings are known from other fossils, but the colour and precise distribution of any covering on Anhanguera are unknown.

An image may place the animal above a Romualdo lagoon, which fits the geological setting. The weather, pose, prey in its jaws and crest colour are artistic choices, not preserved facts.