History Main / Pterosoarer

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[[quoteright:310:[[WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TURU1_6856.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:310:At least it's not a pterodactyl.[[note]]But the name ''Pteranodon'' misses the first "o".[[/note]]]]

->''"For most of us, 'pterodactyls' are imagined as large, vicious and ugly gargoyles with lanky limbs, leathery wings and jaws lined with savage teeth, the sort of disreputable brutes we find in Arthur Conan Doyle's ''[[Literature/TheLostWorld1912 The Lost World]]'', the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' franchise – even a recent episode of ''Franchise/DoctorWho''. Such works suggest we should think ourselves lucky that these flying reptiles – some of which measured 10 metres across the wings and stood as tall as giraffes – were confined to landscapes populated by equally terrible dinosaurs, marine reptiles and turbulent volcanoes during a time known as the Mesozoic era (250m-65m years ago) and that they aren't alive today to menace mankind."''
-->-- Palaeontologist Mark Witton, [[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/11/pterosaurs-fossils-research-mark-witton "Why pterosaurs weren't so scary after all"]]

In HollywoodPrehistory, dinosaurs were awesome. But who says their airborne cousins can't join the fun, either?

While it is true that our knowledge of prehistoric fauna is steadily improving, the depictions in popular media do not seem to be as up to date with modern science. While dinosaurs are increasingly averting ScienceMarchesOn, however, the same cannot be said for the other dominant reptiles during their 200-million-year reign. As a case in point, look no further than their close relatives, the pterosaurs -- the first vertebrates [[note]]that is, animals with backbones[[/note]] to {{fl|ight}}y.

Of course, nothing adds to a prehistoric atmosphere like tossing in some of these flying reptiles. However, it's a good idea to take most depictions of pterosaurs [[ArtisticLicenseBiology with a grain of salt]]. Most media will ratchet them up to being monstrous reptilian eagles or bats, [[KidnappingBirdOfPrey carrying off such luckless victims like tasty humans or adventurous baby dinosaurs]] and being far more aggressive than they were in real life. As in the case of most other PrehistoricMonster portrayals, RuleOfCool very much applies here.

This is a subtrope of ArtisticLicensePaleontology. See SomewhereAnOrnithologistIsCrying for the avian version and SomewhereAHerpetologistIsCrying for a reptilian version. See also GiantFlyer, AllFlyersAreBirds, and DinosaursAreDragons (because pop culture pterodactyls are often surprisingly similar to [[OurWyvernsAreDifferent wyverns]]).

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[[foldercontrol]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Advertisements]]
* A stereotypical naked, talon-footed pterosaur snatches up a caveman (or tries to) in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM_pwc7rBcA This]] BC Dairy commercial.
* [[https://vimeo.com/515268727 An advertisement for Russian telecom company Beeline]] has a "pterodactyl" hoist a man into the air with its feet and carry him to its nest, wherein he ends up [[spoiler:watching dinosaur cartoons with the babies on his portable media player]]. While the adult pterosaur is naked and bird footed, she also [[ShownTheirWork has long, rounded wings with pteroid bones on them and concept art shows that the babies have visible pycnofibres and are quadrupeds]]. Interestingly, the pterosaurs themselves look vaguely similar to a generic ctenochasmatoid, the kind of pterosaur ''Pterodactylus'' was. The pterosaurs are also shown nesting on a snowy mountaintop. Meaning that they ''must'' be warm-blooded [[ShownTheirWork (as real pterosaurs were)]] because they wouldn't be able to survive the cold if they weren't.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFuzbk4_lhw A commercial]] by the now defunct Mexican airliner, Mexicana de Aviacion, used CGI ''Pteranodons'' as a stand-in for other airlines to portray them as old and obsolete and tout itself as the most world's most modern. The pterosaurs themselves don't look too bad, being properly quadrupedal, though they're oversized, have an extra thumb-like toe on each foot, and make airplane noises as they fly (though the last one may be excused by the RuleOfFunny).
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXnlxbU-xoM this commercial for Nissin Cup Noodles]], a mother ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is shown using her talons to drop a slab of meat into her nest to feed her young, and then dropping a rock (one which should weigh almost as much as she does, if not more) onto a gaggle of humans.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The ''Pteranodons'' from the 1979 animated film ''Anime/DaikyouryuNoJidai'' are bipedal and have teeth, but are at least shown eating fish and using their beaks to catch them. The ''Rhamphorhynchus'', on the other hand, are relatively accurate for the 70s.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
** [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/digimon/images/6/6f/Pteramon_b.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131213031024 Pteramon]] is a digimon resembling a cross between a ''Pteranodon'' and a fighter jet.
** [[http://dma.wtw-x.net/DMA/DigimonStands/Toei/Monodramon.jpg Monodramon]] is mostly meant to look like a dragon, but some of his physical characteristics (beaklike snout, wing finger, single horn on his head resembling a crest, etc.) certainly give off pterosaur vibes. Whether or not this was intentional is not known.
* Early installments of ''Franchise/DragonBall'' feature many late surviving extinct species and pterosaurs are among them--one even makes an appearance in the first episode as a StarterVillain. These pterosaurs have ''Pteranodon'' as the obvious baseline inspiration, but they're scaled up to near kaiju levels and look significantly more monstrous and cartoony, with scaly skin, teeth, dragon tails and talons. They're never referred to by any genus name, but they ''are'' referred to as "dinos", which is obviously wrong, but "dino" appears to be treated as a blanket term for prehistoric reptiles in the series.
* ''Series/{{Godzilland}}'' has a SuperDeformed version of Rodan, who has most of the same features as the films such as scaly skin and bipedal stance. Thankfully, he is presented as toothless this time.
* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven GO: Chrono Stone'': Averted with flying colors with Torb's... "father", Tochan. He's a very, ''very'' accurate ''Quetzalcoatlus'', having the right proportions, size and anatomical features (including wings supported by one finger, pteroid bone, plantigrade/non-grasping feet, etc.). The only major inaccuracies seem to be his pointy wingtips, his apparent lack of fuzz (though that may just be the art style) and mild shrinkwrapping (his temporal fenestra is faintly visible). Also, he can somehow play soccer, but that's an {{Acceptable Break|s From Reality}}.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'' had a group of demons called 'demon birds'. Despite being called this, they were clearly pteranodon look-alikes. they certainly acted like birds in the way they perched and called, but they curiously had the diet of a vampire bat. They were fairly anatomically inaccurate for a pterosaur, but this can be forgiven as they were demons, not real animals.
* ''Anime/JuraTripper'': Zans the young, [[TalkingAnimal talking]] ''Pteranodon''. Anatomy-wise he's not bad (toothless, furry, quadrupedal), although he can stand on his hind legs for quite an amount of time. The adult ''Pteranodon'', however, are shown capable of carrying adult humans on their backs.
* ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'': "Fossil Fools" has the Tuffadactyl, which resembles a generic pterosaur with Tuff's head.
* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'': Episode 6 shows a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' to associate with Quetzalcoatl/Lucoa, [[ShownTheirWork as the animal was named]] after the Aztec deity she's based on. The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is shrinkwrapped (the outlines of the bones are faintly visible), seemingly naked (though the art style makes it hard to tell), and has digitigrade feet and transparent wing membranes, but at least it has the right proportions and anatomical features (pteroid bone, wings supported by fourth finger, etc.).
* ''Anime/TheUltraman'' has two pterosaur-based monster, Gadon the kaiju-sized Archaeopteryx who becomes hostile after being affected by the Devil Star, and later a smaller but equally dangerous creature called a Choirus who resembles closer to the classic pterosaur (albeit blue in colour).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' dips into this whenever pterosaur or pterosaur-based creatures show up, although it does have the excuse of these being technically pterosaur-based fantasy creatures.
** The pteron of Mirrodin, while not as bad as some other examples, still have disproportionately long necks and stork-like heads.
** Ixalan is even worse, as the local pterosaurs are typed as dinosaurs in the cards and have eagle-like hindlimbs and feathers (and, in some cases, fully feathered wings) to boot, some further having fully dinosaur- or crocodile-like jaws instead of beaks. Some consequently look more like wyverns or even ''birds'' than actual pterosaurs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Creator/DCComics:
** ''ComicBook/New52'': Surprisingly averted in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' comics. Bunker is attacked by an anatomically correct ''Geosternbergia'', the only flaw being pointy wings.
** ''ComicBook/SensationComics'' On the cover of #91, Franchise/WonderWoman is seen riding a pterosaur that is built rather like a giant naked duck with a tiny crest on its head and pointy wings.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Auranians are shown riding "pterodactyls" that have hand-like feet, bat wings, and hand that stick out of the middle of their bat-like wings...from the middle of the ''membrane'', not even connected to any bone structure.
** ''ComicBook/JurassicLeague'': Wonderdon rides a type of ''Pterodactylus'' as a means of transportation.
* ''ComicBook/DeffSkwadron'': The squighawk, a tremendously vicious flying creature, looks more like this than like any actual bird, complete with leathery pointed wings, a long tail with an arrowhead tip, a fang-lined beak, and a triangular crest on its head.
* ''[[ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian The Savage Sword of Conan]]'': The monstrous pterosaur featured in "At the Mountain of the Moon-God" is inaccurate even by the standards of the 1970s. Apart from being scaly, bipedal, and toothy, it is BornAsAnAdult after incubating in an egg for thousands of years and can fly while grasping a fully-grown human in each hand. This was at least partially intentional, as the narrative acknowledges that last inaccuracy before brushing it off.
* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': Averted in the first issue of ''Turtles in Time'', which features an anatomically accurate Azhdarchid pterosaur.
* One of the titular characters in oneshot ''Cameron and his Dinosaurs'' is Dee Dee, who is referred to as a pterodactyl is as generic they come, having a long tail with and arrow-like tip, perches like a bird and [inconsistantly] has teeth depending on the panel. She's also [[VegetarianCarnivore a plant-eater]]; even though some pterosaurs did eat plant matter, from looks alone she seems to be more suited to piscivory with her slender and point beak, unlike the deep strong bills actual plant-eating species had (like Tapejarids).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Played with. Calvin sometimes imagines himself as a pterosaur and his portrayals are often quite realistic. In one comic which is part of an arc introducing the Transmogrifier Gun, however, he fell into the trap of calling them "dinosaurs". After that strip, he's transmogrified into a cartoony ''Cearadactylus''-like pterodactyl which is no bigger than a crow, much to his dismay as he believes pterodactyls are big (which is ironic as his pterosaur form is the right size for a ''Pterodactylus''). The arc was produced before Bill Watterson started drawing his pterosaurs and dinosaurs more realistically.
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': Pterosaurs are the subject of numerous strips. The comic usually gets lots of stuff wrong, starting with the pterosaurs mostly depicted as gigantic, heavy-bodied, toothy and ferocious carnivores who co-exist with cavemen, and working up (or down) from there. It's all [[RuleOfFunny played for laughs]], often with the pterosaurs being hilariously inappropriate bird-replacements:
** A caveman has "trained" his pet pterosaur to "perch" on his finger, and has lost large chunks of his anatomy in the process, reducing him to using crude bits of wood as replacements.
** A caveman family has set up a "bird feeder", which is some cows staked out on tethers for the pterosaurs to swoop down on and carry off.
** In the "time before feathers", a caveman uses a small fully-intact pterosaur corpse as a pillow.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Documentaries]]
* ''Series/AnimalArmageddon'': Inverted with ''Quetzalcoatlus'', which is among the very few creatures that are not hideous CGI abominations with no connection to reality.
* ''Series/ClashOfTheDinosaurs'' has a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that, although featuring some new discoveries about pterosaurs (namely, the catapult way of taking off and the complex nervous system), is also scaly for no good reason, can apparently detect dinosaur urine and other strange fictitious traits that make it look like the pterosaur analogue of a superhero. It's also portrayed as a soaring, raptor-like predator. Which is... unlikely, to say the least. Although things are looking much better than they once did for the flight capabilities of large azhdarchid pterosaurs, their anatomy -- particularly of the rather well-preserved ''Quetzalcoatlus'' -- is rather incompatible with this method of predation. Instead, it's much more likely they fed like cranes -- landing, then using their long neck to snatch up smaller prey while their long legs grant them a superior elevated position for doing so.
* ''Series/DinosaurPlanet'' features ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that are just long-necked ''Pteranodon'' that nest inland for no good reason.
* ''Series/DinosaurRevolution'' is a precious aversion of this when it comes to its pterodactyloids; both the ''Anhanguera'' and the generic azhdarchids are possibly the most accurate pterosaurs in fictionland after the ''Pteranodon/[[ScienceMarchesOn Geostenbergia]]'' in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'' (see below); however, its ''Rhamphorhynchus'' only loosely resembles the real animal, and is depicted as being purely terrestrial - in reality it would've lived in marine environments. The third episode has another sequence that briefly shows azhdarchids scavenging; again, the notion that azdarchids were specialized scavengers is not likely true, but it's more likely that they were engaging in opportunistic carrion feeding, like some storks do today.
* In ''Film/DragonsAFantasyMadeReal'', ''Pteranodon''-like pterosaurs appear as scavengers trying to dine on the baby prehistoric dragon's deceased mother. There is so much wrong with this, but a particularly glaring aspect is that ''Pteranodon'' and its ilk were simply not built to be specialized scavengers (they didn't have the right mouths for it). It may have ''occasionally'' scavenged if the opportunity arose, but even then it would almost certainly do so on beached sea creatures instead of dead inland animals.
* ''Flying Monsters [=3D=]'' by Creator/DavidAttenborough attempted to be an aversion of this trope, but [[http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-despair-pterosaurs-and-david.html several mistakes made through to the final version]]. Still, it got the quadrupedal launch and pycnofibres right, and it's also quite possibly the ''only'' documentary to remember that [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l7EOwP71ixA/U4pacaRJyVI/AAAAAAAAFAc/JSKi_fDzuxI/s1600/tupandactylus.png pterosaurs could swim]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MarchOfTheDinosaurs'': Poor ''Quetzalcoatlus'' can never catch a break. Besides the usual scales, it's here depicted as a biped, and actually lacks its three small wing fingers. On top of that, the narrator claims that it was a scavenger, which is a notion which should have long been forgotten by docu-makers. [[note]]Notice above where it says its neck ''isn't'' flexible? Like a vulture, it'd need a flexible neck to dig into the carcass and root out bits of flesh, and it doesn't have one.[[/note]]
* ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'' averts all the inaccuracies involved with this trope: portraying very accurate pterosaurs with pyncofibres and proper anatomy and proportions. Still, a few errors slip through: notably, the wings of the ''Hatzegopteryx'' are far too pointy, and that the ''Alcione'', notable for lacking wing claws, are shown climbing cliffs and perching on trees despite them having specializations to the contrary. Nonetheless, these are some of the ''best'' pterosaurs to be seen in popular media. They also participate in speculative behaviors, such as ''Barbaridactylus'' opportunistically picking off ''Alcione'' hatchlings in midair and having different male forms similar to modern ruff birds and cuttlefish.
* ''Series/PlanetDinosaur'' features ''Hatzegopteryx'', chaoyangopterids and more unidentified pterosaurs. Behaviour-wise, they are accurate (''Hatzegopteryx'' being depicted as a terrestrial predator for example), despite both azhdarchoids being shown scavenging, but one critical error, thanks to ScienceMarchesOn, still applies. ''Hatzegopteryx'', despite being depicted as a terrifying terrestrial predator, ''was not as scary as the real thing'', because it was armed with a larger head and a much shorter, thicker neck, plus a muscular build, for taking down and ripping apart the ''adult'' dinosaurs, while in the show it ate only prey it could swallow whole. There are also a few small anatomical errors, such as pointy wings and lack of a pteroid bone.
* ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' falls somewhat to ScienceMarchesOn about its pterosaurs, and the way they bend the wings when on the ground is still anatomically impossible. On the other hand, it does show several lesser-known species of pterosaurs, like ''Ornithocheirus'' (based on specimens now assigned to the genus ''Tropeognathus''), the small South American species ''Tapejara'' (based on specimens now reassigned to the genus ''Tupandactylus''), or the Late Triassic ''Peteinosaurus'' (found mainly in modern day Italy and other parts of Europe and somewhat better known to paleontology fans).
** It still doesn't give much effort into their ''Quetzalcoatlus'', which is just a recolored and slightly tweaked version of the ''Ornithocheirus'' model (short neck, teeth and all).
** However, the ''Ornithocheirus'' is oversized to be ''Quetzalcoatlus''-sized (the narrator constantly emphasizes that it was the largest flying animal ever-- all the stranger, as ''Quetzalcoatlus'' itself appears in a later episode), and the ''Pteranodon'' is placed in Late Cretaceous South America, when it lived in Late Cretaceous North America (correctly shown in the ''Series/SeaMonsters'' spinoff). Ironically, the ''Ornithocheirus'' and ''Pteranodon'' are the ''most'' accurate pterosaurs ([[ScienceMarchesOn for their time, at least]]) in the franchise; the biggest inaccuracies were the aforementioned MisplacedWildlife and size exaggeration, lack of pycnofibres and inability to swim.
** ''Anurognathus'' was hit hard by ScienceMarchesOn. Asides from [[MisplacedWildlife living in North America when it actually lived in Europe]], the animal is now depicted as a much furrier creature with no neck, a wide head, and whiskers, making it the pterosaur equivalent of a bat, instead of the reptilian oxpecker depicted. Really, the only thing the WWD version has in common is that it's an insectivore.
** There are Mark Witton's (an iconic pterosaur expert) comments:
--->- Under-muscled necks and heads\\
- Ear openings in the wrong place\\
- Heads are too small\\
- The ''Tapejara''/''Tupandactylus'' wings are too long\\
- The ''Tapejara''/''Tupandactylus'' crest has weird ridges that aren't known in any fossil\\
- Lack of pycnofibres\\
- Wing membranes look ok to me. Not sure about the way the wing folds up, though.\\
- ''Ornithocheirus'' is, at best, 6 m across the wings, not 12. No pterosaur seems to have had a 12 m wingspan.\\
- Body musculature is a bit off\\
- Terrestrial posture is too sprawled\\
- Statement that "6 m spans are common" is wrong for the Lower Cretaceous. There were such animals there, but they are much rarer than smaller species\\
- Flight looks a bit slow
* ''WesternAnimation/WhenDinosaursRoamedAmerica'' has a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that is clumsy on the ground and has a flexible, bird-like neck, but again ScienceMarchesOn.
* Nicely averted with the ''Quetzalcoatlus'' from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E-nAJaN1jk this Japanese dinosaur documentary]], which has pycnofibres, takes off by vaulting and hunts prey on the ground.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''FanFic/TheBridge'':
** The Amalgam'verse incarnation of Rodan is the Guardian Beast of Air and mostly resembles his Toho film incarnation. The differences are lampshaded as the ancient civilization that created by a combination of genetics and mysticism. His creators used a ''Pteranodon'' as the base template, but added other creatures like birds of prey and crocodilians into the mix before using mana to make it gargantuan. Still, he is mentioned as being covered in pycnofibers and thankfully the fic makes great care to refer to him as a pterosaur and separate from dinosaurs. This additionally translates to his Equestrian form, a gryphon, with his "bird" half replaced by a pycnofiber covered pterosaur front.
** The Gyaos in this continuity are a hybrid species created off the same project that engineered Rodan, but using bats as the main template with pterosaurs as additives.
* ''Fanfic/GodzillaNeo'' has [[http://fav.me/d1lq71p a more realistic take on Rodan]] (see the Film folder below). He still has leathery wings and bird-like feet, but at least he's toothless and (again) has wings supported by the one finger.
* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8085799/1/Pinkassic-Park Pinkassic Park]]'', a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic, plays with this trope in that it presents dinosaurs and pterosaurs as different types of animals and makes the pterosaurs fuzzy, although ''Pteranodon'' is somewhat aggressive. Pinkie Pie actually tames and rides a ''Quetzalcoatlus''.
* ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReimagined'' averts this altogether via having all the pterosaurs featured (both before and after their rescue and integration with the other animals on display at [[FantasticNatureReserve Prehistoric Park]] be portrayed accurately with very few, if any, of the common inaccuracies often associated with pterosaurs via this trope.
* ''Art/RealisticPokemon'' has a [[http://arvalis.deviantart.com/art/Aerodactyl-375770736 more realistic take on Aerodactyl]]; instead of having a batlike extra wing finger, its wings are supported by a second pteroid bone (referred to as an "aeroid") and its beak has ''Ornithocheirus''-like crests on the jaws. Interestingly, it also has a sail on its back like a ''Spinosaurus''.
* ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheGaleforces'':
** Justified with Adam Squall/Terrordactyl, the protagonist. His pterosaur form is based on a ''Pteranodon'' with a misshapen, toothy beak, a CartoonyTail [[DinosaursAreDragons looking rather like a dragon's]], prehensile feet, and bat-like wings; this is {{handwaved}} by the fact that the local genetics companies meddled with his DNA, as with the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' examples below which also appear in several chapters. Thankfully, he has ptero-fuzz, walks on all fours, has wing membranes supported by only one finger, and uses the quadrupedal launch. [[BerserkButton He dislikes being called a dinosaur]], but he's cool with being called a pterodactyl, probably because he believes it refers to the subfamily rather than the specific genus.
** The ''Ornithocheirus'' that show up in later chapters behave a lot like the ''Cearadactylus'' in the first ''Literature/JurassicPark'' novel, being unusually aggressive and strong. At least they pick things up with their beaks instead of their feet like the Pteranodons do.
* ''Fanfic/TheWorldOfTheCreatures'' contains a number of pterosaurs, which the text specifies as having stiff, complex wing membranes and pycnofibers. Seeing as how ''Blog/TetrapodZoology'' author Darren Naish is a character, it's not surprising that the author has [[ShownTheirWork done their research]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheChristmasDinosaur'' -- a [[SoOkayItsAverage cute but forgettable]] ChristmasSpecial from 2004 focusing on two boys who accidentally hatch a baby ''Quetzalcoatlus'' on Christmas -- has quite a bit of this. For starters, the ''Quetzalcoatlus'' looks more like a ''Pteranodon'', has the usual grasping feet, seemingly lacks wingclaws like a ''Nyctosaurus'', and is depicted as loving to eat fish and shrimp (something a ''Pteranodon'' would enjoy, but not ''Quetzalcoatlus''). Confusingly, both the title and characters refer to it as a dinosaur, but it's also more accurately called a pterosaur.
* Creator/{{Disney}}:
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'' features perhaps a rare aesthetic aversion; here, a very anatomically accurate ''Pteranodon sternbergi'' (or ''[[ScienceMarchesOn Geosternbergia]]'') carries Aladar's egg in the beginning. That said, though, it still falls under this trope ''behaviorally'', since its young are briefly seen in a chicken-like nest, presumably being fed by the parent; actual pterosaur hatchlings would have been capable of flying and hunting by themselves.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'': The Rite of Spring segment shows what for the time and by today's standards are pretty accurate ''Pteranodon'' that were shown as quadrupeds, eating fish and squid and picking them up with their mouths. On the flip side however, they are still extremely skinny and according to recent studies, they vaulted off the ground and did not roost on cliffs like gulls. Several of them are also seen hanging upside down from cliffs in a bat-like fashion, something that most modern paleontologists believe pterosaurs were probably incapable of.
* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDinosaur'': The 2006 remake features ''Pteranodon'' that can walk on their hind legs and ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that hunt in flocks. On the other wing, the ''Pteranodon'' were shown [[ShownTheirWork diving for food like pelicans or gannets]].
* ''WesternAnimation/Epic1984'' is set in an unspecified distant past since it already features a dinosaur on a scene, and it also has a giant flying pterosaur near the end, that looks more like a featherless bird with leathery wings. The original Australian version also features a small bird-like pteranodon in a single shot.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'': The "Pterodactyls" are quite the hodgepodge of stereotypes, although they receive some credit for averting common misconceptions about pterosaurs. The main one, Thunderclap, looks like a ''Nyctosaurus'' but he's too big, has grasping talons, a too-small crest, [[ToothyBird teeth]], wing claws (which wouldn't be a problem if it was any other type of pterosaur, but ''Nyctosaurus'' is the only known pterosaur that ''lacked'' any wing claws), is extremely scrawny and is a vicious predator as opposed to the fish-eater that ''Nyctosaurus'' was in real life. The other pterosaurs appear to be ''Caulkicephalus'', ''Ludodactylus'', and ''Guidraco'', and they share the same grasping talons and scrawny frames as Thunderclap as well as also being portrayed as predators instead of fish-eaters. On the other hand, all of them are portrayed as quadrupeds like real pterosaurs, but they walk on their knuckles instead of flat on their fingers. Fortunately, there is one tie-in coloring book which states [[ShownTheirWork they are not dinosaurs but flying reptiles]].
* ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'' has the stereotypical cartoony pterodactyls; about the only thing remotely accurate was that the animal's wing was somewhat rounded in shape, instead of the pointy wings seen in other mediocre depictions (flight would be impossible if the wings were that pointy in RealLife). Also, they were quadrupedal on the ground, but they use the bipedal launch.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheIceAgeAdventuresOfBuckWild'', Buck has a new flying mount in a ''Ludodactylus''-like "pterodactyl" that he named Penelope. Penelope looks more accurate than the pterosaurs seen in ''Dawn of the Dinosaurs'', even possessing pycnofibres on the back of her head, but she's nonetheless stereotypical.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'': Petrie looks like a seventies ''Pteranodon'', but at least the animators tried to lessen the blow by giving him subtle influence from theories that were new back then and eventually turned out true, like making him walk on all fours most of the time and not mentioning his diet. The sequels, however, threw these hints to the garbage can and made all pterosaurs vulture [[{{Expy}} expies]] that eat leaves. They do manage to get some things right, though. For example, it is probably the only piece of dinosaur media to remember the BizarreSexualDimorphism of ''Pteranodon'' (Petrie's mother has a stumpy crest and is rather short, his uncle has a massive crest and is really tall).
* ''Literature/TheMagicTreehouse'' film averts this with Henry the ''Pteranodon''. He has the right body proportions and anatomical features (wings supported by one elongated fourth finger, pteroid bone, a correctly shaped skull with a toothless beak, non-grasping feet, and skin described as being similar to velvet meaning pycnofibres), and he even [[ShownTheirWork takes off by vaulting]]. However, he is too big and lives inland, a book refers to him as a dinosaur despite being properly identified as a pterosaur and he's in the wrong time period; while ''Pteranodon'' did live in the Cretaceous, this one was shown at the very end of that time period (right alongside ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex''). In reality, ''Pteranodon'' had already gone extinct by that time.
* ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'': Elsa is a pterodactyl with a long tail who [[IAmNotWeasel hates being called a bat]]. And, well, she has a monstrously inaccurate wing structure. She really DOES look more like a bat. For some reason, though, she's perfectly fine with being called a dinosaur (even using the term herself), though she probably had no way of knowing better seeing as she was uplifted to sapience alongside a trio of true dinosaurs and presumably never informed that she was something different.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Gamera}}'': Gyaos is a pterosaur-based {{Kaiju}} with scaly skin, teeth, a long tail, and bat-like wings, to the point that he looks more like a dragon than a real pterosaur. However, they are never stated to be pterosaurs and behaviourally more similar to vampire bats, drinking blood, having sonic abilities, and retreating during the day. The Showa incarnation is implied to be alien in origin, while in the Heisei continuity, they are explicitly artificial organisms, genetically-engineered by ancient Atlanteans, and therefore avert this trope.
* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'': The sequels famously depict ''Pteranodon longiceps'' as the token non-dinosaur prehistoric thing; of the two varieties, none is accurate. The first, which appears in ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'', is exactly like the ''Pteranodon'' of the seventies; leathery-winged, bird-necked, can perch on trees. The second in ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' looks slightly more like a real pterosaur, but it is now naked, its wings also seem leathery, and it has teeth in its beak ("Pteranodon" [[MeaningfulName means]] '''toothless wing''') and again grasping feet. Possibly justified as they could be mutants, like other cloned prehistoric reptiles in the movies; it has since been canonically established that the many of the animals that appear in the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' films are just man-made abominations that barely resemble their RealLife counterparts.
** The YA novelization of ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' [[AllThereInTheManual states]] that the ''Pteranodon'' were genetically altered to be bigger/more impressive and are not the genuine prehistoric animal. This could explain not only the teeth and grasping feet, but the [[AllFlyersAreBirds bird-like nests]] as well. The young are also less flight-capable than they should be and are unrealistically aggressive.
** Concept art and models for ''The Lost World'' show that there were plans for ''Geosternbergia/Pteranodon sternbergi'', which looked relatively accurate for the time. It was even portrayed with [[ShownTheirWork pycnofibres]].
** This is played straight, to various degrees, in the spinoff video-games too. In episode 2 of Telltale's ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'', a ''Pteranodon'' (based on JPIII's version, down to having teeth) attacks a rescue helicopter for no apparent reason. Perhaps it just unintentionally bumped the chopper while chasing a flock of birds, but that in itself is another mistake: ''Pteranodon''s were fish-eaters, and probably wouldn't be too interested in birds.
** In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the ''Pteranodon'' (which are toothless this time, thankfully) are not only still portrayed as DeathFromAbove, but also joined by a different pterosaur: ''Dimorphodon''. The ''Dimorphodon'' themselves, however, are depicted as aerial predators (the real life ''Dimorphodon'' was a harmless insectivore/hunter of small animals), and physically resemble emaciated bat-wyvern creatures with toothy jaws instead of beaks, although they are at least portrayed with (barely visible) pycnofibres in contrast to the once again naked ''Pteranodons''. Interestingly, this film is probably the first pop culture work[[note]]aside from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDinosaur 2006'' mentioned above [[/note]] to depict ''Pteranodon'' plunge-diving for food like pelicans or gannets, [[ShownTheirWork something they likely did in real life]], and it also remembers their sexual dimorphism (having short, stumpy crests when female). The ''Pteranodons'' that show up in the prologue of ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' inexplicably use the same models as this movie, but one is shown diving into the water, showing that this behavior was not limited to the modern-day hybrids from ''Jurassic World'' proper.
** The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' in ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' is the closest thing to an [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of this trope thus far in the movies, with the ones in the prologue being depicted as terrestrial, quadrupedal macro-predators with pycnofibres. Fittingly, the prologue actually takes place during the Cretaceous, so the pterosaurs shown here are not theme park hybrids, but the genuine article. A revived one also appears in the present day, attacking a cargo plane the human protagonists are flying in; this one is [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever much larger than the real animal]], almost the same size ''as the plane itself'', but this could once again be explained by genetic engineering. Its menacing the humans is not unreasonable, though - azhdarchids, the group ''Quetzalcoatlus'' belongs to, likely hunted terrestrial prey, particularly ground-dwelling animals like small reptiles, mammals, and maybe dinosaur hatchlings.
* ''Film/KingKong1933'' falls into this retroactively, as not much was known for certain about pterosaurs, or prehistoric animals in general, back when it was made. At least, unlike below, the wings are those of a pterosaur...
* ''Film/OneMillionYearsBC'' has Loanna captured by an immense, bat-winged ''Pteranodon'' to be fed to its young. The ''Pteranodon'' and its young then get killed by an oversized, short-tailed, and also bat-winged ''Rhamphorhynchus''.
* ''Film/{{Prehysteria}}'': There's a miniature ''Pteranodon sternbergi'' (now "''Geosternbergia sternbergi''") named after Madonna. Anatomy-wise, she's actually [[ShownTheirWork quite accurate]], being correctly proportioned, quadrupedal, toothless and unable to carry things with her feet. She also, however, lacks the sexual dimorphism pteranodontid pterosaurs had (her crest is supposed to be much smaller) and is shown eating raisins when she should be eating fish (though the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' is also shown eating raisins). Curiously, she's also depicted as [[PollyWantsAMicrophone being able to mimic human speech like a parrot]].
* ''Film/{{Pterodactyl}}'': Imagine if the second variety of JP ''Pteranodon''s took steroids and decided to go bipedal. [[SoBadItsGood Granted, this is a movie that has one slice a man in half with its wing.]]
* ''Film/{{Rodan}}'': The titular creature is a mutated giant ''Pteranodon'' (His Japanese name "Radon", is a play on the name "Pte-RA-no-DON" and the radioactive noble gas "radon"). However, he looks less like a real pterosaur and more like a scaly ([[ScienceMarchesOn To be fair, the scientific concensus at the time believed pterosaurs were scaly]]) [[AllFlyersAreBirds bird of prey]] that walks bipedally, has [[ToothyBird fangs in his beak]] and can grab things with his feet, but at least he does have membrane-shaped wings. Given that Rodan is meant to be a fictional movie monster and not a faithful portrayal of a pterosaur, all of his inaccuracies are wholly intentional. He is, after all, played by a man in a suit, and his next appearance has him hanging out with Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. In the Heisei series, Rodan is now portrayed by a puppet and obtains a major redesign that gives him proportions closer to a real ''Pteranodon'', such as having a longer beak and a slightly bigger head. However, he was given bat-like wings, which is rather jarring considering the Showa era got his wings right. In ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'', Rodan's suit is modeled after his Showa design and brings back his membrane-shaped wings, but the suit's proportions make him look even more [[AnthropomorphicShift humanoid]] than he was in his debut.
** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' portrays Rodan as toothless and quadrupedal, but retains his scaly skin and grasping feet, looking more like a MixAndMatchCritter between a pterosaur and a vulture. Also, he now lives inside a volcano and is perpetually on fire. The Titans are said to have dated back from the Permian period, meaning that Rodan isn't even an actual pterosaur but something else that ''predates the pterosaur order by over 60 million years'', which may justify some of his inaccuracies.
* ''Film/{{Sharktopus}}'': The Pteracuda from ''Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda'' is a half-pterosaur, half-barracuda monstrosity from a B-movie, so its lack of accuracy is unsurprising--it's scaly (probably from the fish DNA), unfathomably huge, has birdlike talons among other things--but curiously, it also has a pteroid bone in each of its wings, something that most movies forget about/purposely ignore.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' featured a cameo from a large winged creature called a Dactillion (the name should be an indicator), which was a cross between a pterosaur, a dragon and a lizard. It's an alien creature, so paleontological accuracy really can't be assessed here.
* ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' has an iconic scene of a ''Pteranodon'' (toothed and bat-winged) being lassoed and wrestled by a cowboy. It's worth noting that both this and the the one from ''One Million Years B.C.'' were modeled by the same animator.
* ''Film/TyrannosClaw'' has several dinosaurs, one of them being a massive pterosaur who tries menacing the main characters several times, and later snatches the (unnamed) female lead to it's nest to feed its young.
* ''Film/WhenDinosaursRuledTheEarth'': While Tara is hiking back to his tribe, which has been taken over by the overzealous Kingsor, he is carried off by a giant ''Rhamphorhynchus''.
* There's a rumour that ''Film/CitizenKane'' has some pterosaurs flying by in the background during a picnic scene. The legend goes that it's rear-projected StockFootage from ''Film/TheSonOfKong'', which RKO had lying around, apparently figuring that in their very brief screentime most audiences would assume they were birds. However, ''The Son of Kong'' [[PopCultureUrbanLegends contains no such scene]], so the exact identity of those animated things flying around in the background at Charles Foster Kane's beach party remains unclear.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheAtomicTimeOfMonsters'': The {{Kaiju}} Ahuul is a gigantic, aggressive pterosaur-like monster with a toothy beak, clawed wings, eagle-like talons, and both a crest and a long tail.
* ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}'': At least two major cases of this.
** The Skybax are a fictional species of ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that are used as steeds by the Skybax Riders. They're a fairly typical 1990s depiction of the animal, being scaly, bipedal fish-eaters. In the second book, ''The World Beneath'', they're even shown skim-feeding, which was a popular hypothesis at the time for how large pterosaurs fed, but is now known to be incorrect.
** The first book also has ''Dimorphodon'', which are the Dinotopian version of an InstantMessengerPigeon. While they share the same issues as the Skybax (bipedal stance, no fur), the biggest inaccuracy is that in real life, ''Dimorphodon'' was a rather weak flyer that spent most of its time on the ground.
* ''Literature/{{Dinoverse}}'' has Janine Farehouse BodySwap into a Quetzalcoatlus. A bipedal one with a short neck and no crest, who lives off fish and is inexplicably able to hang upside down on a cliff face. She also has surprising dexterity, but then again so do the kids who became a tyrannosaur and a ''Leptoceratops'', respectively.
* ''Literature/JurassicPark'': The original novel features an aviary full of ''Cearadactylus''. While they're depicted as [[ShownTheirWork furry, quadrupedal fish-eaters]], they also fill the "airborne terror" role. Granted, the reason they're so aggressive is much more plausible than most portrayals -- they're naturally territorial and aren't too keen on people wandering into their nesting ground. They're also erroneously referred to as "birds" and "flying dinosaurs", which is made all the more jarring by the fact that the chapter they appear in is told from the perspective of a ''legitimate paleontologist''.
* ''Film/KingKong2005'':
** The companion book features a speculative flightless pterosaur called a "Scissor-Head", which gave up flight and took up wading and diving. The main problem is that the Scissor-Head's [[http://z3.ifrm.com/93/186/0/p258129/Speculative_Evolution___Scissor_Head.jpg body plan]] is ''way'' too [[AllFlyersAreBirds birdlike]] to match with a flightless pterosaur and it lacks pycnofibres with no explanation of where they went (that said, [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology none of the dinosaurs seem to have plumage either]]). The authors and artist get points for creativity, though.
** Subverted with the Vultursaurs -- they look like stereotypical "lizard-bat" pterodactyls from fiction, but are in fact an offshoot lineage of theropod dinosaurs that developed batlike wings instead of feathers. HilariousInHindsight, seeing as ten years later it was discovered in real life that there ''were'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_(dinosaur) theropod dinosaurs that developed batlike wings]] (though there's some debate as to ''how'' batlike they were; some argue that they were more like flying squirrels), although they still had feathers.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', of all works, largely averts this. Tolkien stated that the "Fell Beasts" the Nazgul fly on ''aren't'' pterosaurs, despite having naked skin, beaked faces and featherless wings described as "webs of hide between horned fingers". That being said, though, he did acknowledge that they are "pterodactylic" in nature, and "might even be 'a last survivor of older geological eras'".
* In ''Literature/TheNewDinosaursAnAlternativeEvolution'', most of the pterosaurs resemble some unholy amalgam between mammal and bird, with rampant heterodont dentition, bipedalism, and use of the wing finger for walking on. This is mostly due to [[ScienceMarchesOn science marching on]] however, as the book was written in the 1980s when pterosaur knowledge was still thin on the ground.
* ''Literature/OlogySeries'': ''Dinosaurology'' features pterosaurs that soundly avert this trope. The ''Pteranodons'' are correctly depicted as harmless fish-eaters. The azhdarchid (implied to be a ''Hatzegopteryx'') is correctly depicted as a terrestrial macro-predator, and just to show how much research they've done, isn't even recognized by the scientists who meet it due to the story taking place in 1907 (''Hatzegopteryx'' itself was not discovered and recognized by science until 2002). All of the pterosaurs are furry, quadrupedal, have pteroid bones, vault from level ground with their wings and are heavily muscled.
* ''Literature/PrimitiveWar'': Averted. The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' have pycnofibres, walk quadrupedally, and are portrayed as terrestrial predators using their beaks to grab. They also have speculative bristles on their tongues which help them get a firm grasp on their prey. Interestingly, the tie-in field guide ''The Primitive War: Bestiary'' claims the young ''Quetzalcoatlus'' are able to feed by skimming, but lose this ability as they mature.
* ''Literature/WestOfEden'' features scaly, cold blooded pterosaurs that can't even take off from the ground. It completely illustrates what this trope is about, as it was written in the '80s and features things that would make even the paleontologists of the '70s cry.
* ''Literature/ZRex'': ''Z. Apocalypse'' has the Z. dactyl, a genetically-advanced ''Ornithocheirus'' with the tail of a ''Rhamphorhynchus''. [[ShownTheirWork Thankfully]], the author makes sure to identify it as a pterosaur instead of a dinosaur, and it gets pointed out when it's called a "pterodactyl" in that ''Pterodactylus'' was a much smaller pterosaur.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' features ''Pteranodon'' that are stereotypical of this trope, namely behaving like birds. On the other wing, the show seems to regard pterosaurs as different animals than dinosaurs, since they are portrayed as wild animals or domesticated by the civilized dinosaurs.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship Dinosaurs on a Spaceship]]" features abnormally aggressive Pteranodons (called "Pterodactyls" by The Doctor) attacking The Doctor, Rory, and Brian (Rory's dad) in one scene. Granted, the Pterosaurs don't try to grab anyone with their feet, but that still doesn't excuse the writers for having them try to stab the heroes with their beaks. Pteranodon ate fish, it would have no reason to attack people. Oh, and they don't hunt in packs either.
* ''Series/ElmosWorld'': Somewhat averted in "Dinosaurs" when Dorothy imagines Elmo as a pterosaur (described as "like a dinosaur, but with wings") that resembles a reasonably-accurate ''Ludodactylus'', [[ShownTheirWork right down to having pycnofibres]].
* The ''Series/MonsterWarriors'' battle monstrous pterodacyls in "Pterodactyl Terror" and "The Secrets of the Lost Canyon". The inaccuracies are {{Justified}} is this case these are not supposed to be real pterodactyls, but creatures conjured out of an old monster movie by the series' BigBad.
* ''Series/OddSquad'': One episode, "6:00 to 6:05", features Precinct 13579 being attacked by a small pterosaur after a mass breakout from the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dinosaur Room]]. The [[{{Pun}} odd]] thing is, the pterosaur is quite clearly a ''Pterodaustro'', a filter-feeder that was the Cretaceous equivalent of a flamingo, and is depicted as being about [[AnimalsNotToScale half the size of a real one]].
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': Various incarnations have featured Zords based on various species of pterosaurs. While they do have their share of inaccuracies (calling a ''Pteranodon'' a "Pterodactyl" just to name one), they do at least try a little by having some lesser-known pterosaurs be featured. The "Dragozord", for example, is a robotic ''Tupuxuara''. Plus, the series runs on RuleOfCool, and these are HumongousMecha, not living creatures, so accuracy isn't exactly a priority.
* ''Series/{{Primeval}}'':
** The ''Pteranodon'' is fairly standard -- nothing especially wrong with it, but not exactly a transcendent portrayal -- but the ''Anurognathus'' in the same episode are bipedal scrawny things that may as well be airborne pirañas. Both lack pycnofibres.
** ''Series/PrimevalNewWorld'' features a ''Pteranodon'' that's anatomically accurate (even with a straggly covering of pycnofibres), but bigger and meaner.
* ''Series/TerraNova'': The rhamphorynchid antagonists in episode 3 lack pycnofibres and are improbably aggressive, and "rhamphorhynchoids" are [[AnachronismStew believed to have been extinct by the show's 85 million-year-old date.]][[note]]Though [[http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/answers/viewtopic.php?id=2417 a Candeleros Formation specimen]] may indeed reflect a late-living "rhamphorhynchoid."[[/note]] There is a larger and (slightly) better-looking pterodactyloid species that has a few cameos in one or two episodes, although it also commits the crime of being naked with pointed wings.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': Pterodactyls look like a slightly less mediocre version of ''Film/JurassicParkIII'''s second pterosaur variety. By "less mediocre", its just because it lacks teeth. Sans the appearance, Myfanwy also seems to be a super predator when even its anatomy dictates that injuring partially-converted Cybermen and ''Apatosaurus''-aliens would be a fairly hard task.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/Danger5'', with a "pterodon" played by a man [[PeopleInRubberSuits in a bad rubber suit]]. It talks, and attacks Jackson with a [[GrievousBottleyHarm broken beer bottle]] after [[AttemptedRape sexually assaulting a woman]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO6DGWsW6Pc This music video]], despite making the valiant effort to point out that pterosaurs and dinosaurs are not the same thing, is enough to make any pterosaur fan scream out in frustration; it claims that pterosaurs and birds are closely related (they're not), that pterosaurs laid their eggs in nests and took care of them (they didn't--at least, not the ones we have egg fossils of), that ''Pteranodon'' ate fish while flying (it did eat fish, but not that way) and that most/all pterosaurs had crests (only some did). Typical errors like pointy, batlike wings and tendency to use the word "pterodactyl" as if it's interchangeable with pterosaur [[note]]although the artist acknowledged this error in the comments, claiming that she used "pterodactyl" because it sounded cooler[[/note]] are also present. At least the song is catchy.
* Music/TheHistorianHimself's "Earth Beasts Awaken" project, based around a Kaiju Apocalypse, features the monstrous "Terrorsoar" as the main harbinger of humanity's demise.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' always notes that pterosaurs aren't dinosaurs despite always lumping them into the same entry in the ''Monster Manual''. In every edition, however, ''Pteranodon'' and ''Quetzalcoaltus'' are always depicted as being so slow and awkward on the ground that they're helpless. ''Quetzalcoaltus'' also tends to be a lot smaller in the game than it would have been in real life.
* ''TabletopGame/HeroSystem'': The cover for ''Lands of Mystery'', a LostWorld sourcebook for ''Justice Inc.'', features a villain riding a ''Quetzalcoatlus''. If you check the creature stats, this is absolutely possible in the game ... though both the ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and ''Pteranodon'' writeups give them Gliding rather than true Flight, so their use as airborne transport is somewhat limited. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is also noted as being capable of carrying off [=NPCs=] to feed to its young. [[JustifiedTrope Can be forgiven]] since ''Justice Inc.'' was a pulp game and pterosaurs, like every other critter, are acting the way they did in the pulps.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Downplayed by sky titans. Their artwork shows them as fairly realistic azhdarchid pterosaurs, but their otherwise share the trope's propensity for preying on human-sized, land-bound victims that they divebomb like meteors and pull into the heavens to toy with before swallowing whole.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' goes back and forth quite a bit on this. While the Pteranodon's illustration for 1st edition is very good, its statistics and flavor text portray it as oversized and awkward on both the round and in the air (and unable to swim). Dimorphodon is portrayed as a man-sized, areal predator with a venomous bite, naked skin, and a hooked beak, unlike the much smaller, arboreal generalist it is thought to have been in real life. The 1st edition Quetzalcoatlus is very accurate, however, relying on a powerful beak with a good land speed to hunt prey on the ground and looking extremely close to what scientists think the real animal looked like. 2nd edition plays this trope straight, however, portraying Pteranodon as a toothy, draconic monstrosity with bare skin save for a mane of spiny quills, and giving Quetzalcoatlus grasping talons, a poor land speed, and abilities that encourage it to hunt prey from the air.
* ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'': There are many species of these on Venus, the largest being the Winged Devil with a ten-meter wingspan.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Lizardmen have units of Terradon and Ripperdactyl Riders, as well as Terradon steeds for heroes and generals, creatures depicted as scaly, floppy-winged, toothy man-eaters with claws strong enough to carry stones to drop on enemies' heads. The Ripperdactyls in particular are highly aggressive, blunt-jawed predators specialized for strafing and attacking land-bound targets.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* While the Axtell Expressions puppet [[http://www.axtell.com/terryd.html "Terry Dactyl"]] is most likely not ''supposed'' to be accurate, the company was at least willing to add fur to the puppet, even pointing out that they did it for the sake of accuracy.
* Toys/BeanieBabies had Swoop the "Pterodactyl" ([[http://www.tycollector.com/beanies/bb-images/swoop-4268-2.jpg who looks like this]]), who was a classic example. He has pointy, batlike wings, a bipedal birdlike stance, and a prominent tail (despite evidently being based on a ''Pteranodon''). Probably the only accurate thing about him is that he doesn't have teeth. At least he's [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cute]].
* Averted with the Chicago Field Museum's plush [[http://store.fieldmuseum.org/product/FIELD_MUSEUM_-_PTERANODON_PLUSH Pteranodon]]. It's furry, quadrupedal, has webbed feet, lacks teeth, wings are attached to the lower legs, and it even has a pteroid bone.
* Chinasaurs. The term refers to toys that don't give any indication as to which manufacturer made them, only have the word CHINA stamped onto their underside. While dinosaurs are more common, a couple of these secretive Chinese companies released a number of pterosaur toys as well, among them a sculpt that can only be described as the following: the figure looks like an ''Archaeopteryx'' (which ''wasn't'' a pterosaur, but a bird-like dinosaur) from above, save for its head, with a nicely sculpted plumage. Though the undersides of its wings are flat and bare, and its head resembles that of a heron, with a ''Pteranodon''-like crest extending from its back.
* Colorata beautifully averts this with both their [[http://www.colorata.com/fs/colorata/figure/figurebox_dd1 figurines]] and their [[http://www.colorata.com/fs/colorata/st_dinosaur/st_sitting_dd07 Pteranodon plush.]]
* The Cuddlekins toy line (a line of plush toys by Wild Republic) includes a fairly accurate Pteranodon plush. It's got a furry body, no teeth, non-grasping feet (and ''webbed'' feet at that, implying a swimming ability--something even fully educational venues are prone to forgetting), and its wings are supported by a single finger rather than being bat-like.
* ''WesternAnimation/DinoRiders'': The toy line had for the good guys ''Quetzalcoatlus'', ''Pterodactylus'', and several small ''Rhamphorhynchus'' which came with the ''Brontosaurus'' set. The villains had ''Pteranodon'', and as late addition also a ''Quetzalcoatlus''. A [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife leopard-patterned]] one. While the pterosaurs are out of scale (sans ''Rhamphorhynchus'' who is properly small), they are surprisingly anatomically accurate for their time. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and ''Pterodactylus'' are both portrayed as crested (surprising for the latter as it was not known to have a crest until 2004), and in the cartoon all the pterosaur genera are portrayed as quadrupeds. Also, the ''Quetzalcoatlus'', ''Pteranodon'',[[note]]which was a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' toy with a different head design[[/note]] and ''Pterodactylus'' all had a "skin" texture that portrayed a coating of hair.
* The ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' toyline has had pterosaurs (mostly ''Pteranodons'', but there's a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and a ''Tapejara'' as well, and ''Dimorphodon'' and ''Rhamphorhychus'' come along in later lines) since before they appeared in the movies. They have their wings correctly supported by a single finger, but all have grasping feet and their wings are connected to the hips instead of legs, and in some toys not connected to the body at all (though this is most likely for the sake of articulation). At least all ''Pteranodon'' toys, even the ones based on ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', are properly toothless. Unfortunately, for some baffling reason, the ''Pteranodon'' figure made for the ''Film/JurassicWorld'' toy line ''does'' have teeth, and they appear to have been made as obvious and ugly as possible (ironic, since being toothless was one of the few things the film itself ''didn't'' screw up about its ''Pteranodon'' design).
* ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3'' has an AirborneMook called a Pteran, which resembles a SuperDeformed ''Pteranodon'' with bat-wings.
* Franchise/{{Lego}}: Surprisingly averted with [[http://www.yogee.com.au/lego-174-dino-5883-pteranodon-tower-takedown.html this]] playset; while the wings are not connected correctly (and like the above mentioned Jurassic Park examples, this is probably just for the sake of articulation), the ''Pteranodon'' in the kit is very accurate. It's toothless, eats fish and has rounded wingtips! It's still referred to as a dinosaur, though.
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': There have been a few pterosaur-based Transformer toys throughout the years, some less stellar than others. The [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 original]] Dinobot Swoop was a boxy-looking metal ''Pteranodon'' that rested on its hind legs. Can be forgiven, as he was never meant to represent a realistic animal. The standard ''Pteranodon'' mold from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', however, ''was'', and fared badly -- huge crocodilian scales, a bird-like stance, prominent teeth. Skysaur, the Japanese-exclusive ''Quetzalcoatlus'' was similar, although he even had a bird-like beak and an incredibly short neck to boot. The Mini-Con ''Pteranodon'' mold and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'''s Swoop-redesign were also old-school, biped pterosaurs, though like the original Swoop, they too were meant to be more mechanical-looking, so there is some leeway.
* U.K.R.D. released a number of dinosaur toys in the beginning of the nineties, among them a ''Pteranodon'' with an "interesting" approach. While its torso was correctly covered in "hair", it had the stubby legs of a goat, a tiny head and short beak/crest, and bat wings covered in thick scales.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'''s pterosaurs run the gamut:
** The ''Pteranodon'' has teeth, scales, bat-like wings, and the ability to pick up humans ([[RuleOfFun a technique used by riders to harass enemies]]). They're also identical in genders (real females are smaller and don't have large crests; then again all the other animals in-game have identical sexes).
** The ''Dimorphodon'' has feathers and KillerRabbit tendencies, but is otherwise not too shabby.
** The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is pretty accurate, except that it's way bigger than the real thing and strong enough to carry off a mammoth as well as a small building on its back (once again RuleOfFun applies). Ironically, it is portrayed as being constantly airborne like an albatross, despite being one of the most terrestrial of pterosaurs.
** The ''Tapejara'' has the wrong crest (making it look more like ''Tupandactylus'' or ''Tupuxuara'', which were once considered synonymous with ''Tapejara''), is a carnivore (it probably ate fruit in real life), and has the strength to carry three people and pick up another with its claws (need we say RuleOfFun again?). Otherwise, not bad.
* ''VIdeoGame/BanjoTooie'':
** Terry definitely has teeth, and no end of mucus. For a male, he's awfully possessive about his eggs.
** Smaller ''Pteranodon''-like pterosaurs, called Soarasaurus, serve as the AirborneMooks of Terrydactyland. They are a counterpart of Isle 'O Hags' Gruntydactyls, which are actually dragons or wyverns rather than pterosaurs.
* ''VideoGame/BigKarnak'': Prior to battling Osiris, the god will transform himself into a gigantic purple pterodactyl, backed up by several blue ones, to fight you. Said monster is either Osiris' AttackAnimal, or Osiris himself turning into an animal form to fight you before reverting to humkanoid, but it's never explained.
* ''VideoGame/ClubPenguin'': The Prehistoric Parties feature ''Pteranodon'' as one of the prehistoric animals penguins can transform into, which has both inaccuracies and accuracies. On one hand, it's apparently identified as a dinosaur, it apparently lacks pycnofibres (though the artstyle makes it hard to tell), it' s tail is a bit too long (although not as much as that of ''Rhamphorhynchus''), the wings have pointy tips and they attach to the hips instead of the ankles and it has two wing fingers instead of three, as well as two toes. On the other hand, it's toothless, it's quadrupedal when on the ground, and the wing attaches to a fourth (well, third in this case) finger.
* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'' also has pretty stock pterosaurs, which are apparently supposed to be ''Pteranodon''. They lack "fur", and in the only times they land, they perch in a bipedal stance or lie on the ground as they die, flapping pathetically. They also attack Regina by -- you guessed it -- hoisting her up into the air with their feet, with one death scene showing them carrying away her 100+ pound corpse. Granted, if they did not attack her it would be [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality a fairly boring game and would make them a pointless enemy]], but their motivation is apparently to eat her. Oddly enough, at least one [[AllThereInTheManual strategy guide]] [[LampshadeHanging points out the errors of a]] ''[[LampshadeHanging Pteranodon]]'' [[LampshadeHanging predating on a human]] [[WildMassGuessing and speculates that they are attacking her for territorial reasons]].
* ''VideoGame/DinosaurSafari'' has a number of pterosaurs to photograph, including Dimorphodon, Eudimorphodon, Pteranodon, etc.
* ''VideoGame/DungeonSiegeII'': Terraks (except for the small tail) look very much like ''Pteranodon''. What makes the paleontologists and dinosaur enthusiasts cry is the violation of the RuleOfCool that comes with these animals, which can be summed up in this question: "If they have wings, [[AcrophobicBird why are they always walking?]]"
* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'': The first game features a helpful ''Pteranodon'' in the {{Prehistoria}} levels who was essentially copy/pasted from an old artist's rendering of the species. He somehow manages to carry a bull bottlenose dolphin with no grasping hind feet.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has Cliff Racers, roughly person-sized reptilian flyers with leathery wings native to the game's setting.
* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist EXTRAPOWER Giant Fist]]'': These populate the higher elevations of [[LethalLavaLand Magarda Volcano]].
* ''VideoGame/TheHunterPrimal'': The ''Quetzalcoatlus'', while reasonably accurate (they have pycnofibers and a realistic skull shape) show a KidnappingBirdOfPrey like behaviour similar to the ones seen in ''VideoGame/PrimalCarnage'' and ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'' in which they grab the player's character with their feet (which is anatomically impossible) to then letting you free causing to suffer a swift death [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou by showing you how gravity works]]. Ironically and in spite of the fact that Quetzalcoatlus was one of the most terrestrial species of Pterosaur, they are never seen on the ground.
* ''VideoGame/LordOfGun'' have a [[DinosaursAreDragons fire-breathing]] pterodactyl as one of the two DualBoss enemies in the swamp level, alongside the [[WhenTreesAttack tree demon]]. Where it swoops in and out of the screen to ambush you periodically.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'': The Qurupeco is obviously partly based on pterosaurs, but walks on its hindlegs with a very bird-like body and sports some feathers instead of pycnofibres. Justified because it's not really a pterosaur but a very birdlike species of [[OurWyvernsAreDifferent wyvern]].
* ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'' has the Kongamato, a bat-winged pterosaur that's described as incredibly strong.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'': "Pterodactyls" show up in the Jurassic Marsh levels, resembling cartoony toothy ''Pteranodon'' but [[AnachronismStew coexisting with "Raptors", Stegosaurus, and T. rex]]. They're scaly, bipedal, and can pick up zombies with their feet, [[DungeonBypass dropping them off on the near side of your lawn to attack your plants from behind]]. If [[MookFaceTurn charmed by the Perfume-Shroom]], however, they carry zombies off the lawn for a OneHitKill instead.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Aerodactyl]] plays this trope as straight as can be. This is justified, however, in that it isn't meant to represent any known species to begin with, and also because it takes elements from [[DinosaursAreDragons the two-legged, two-winged wyvern]] (which may explain why the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragon-type]] specialist Lance has one on his team). As of 2014, there is a pterosaur species named after Aerodactyl, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodactylus Aerodactylus scolopaciceps,]]'' in a bizarre way, this technically means that Aerodactyl has been {{Defictionaliz|ation}}ed[[note]]Though it can't be cloned and probably wasn't a gigantic super predator.[[/note]].
** Skarmory from ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' takes a bit of influence from pop-culture pterosaurs, tending to play the KidnappingBirdOfPrey role a lot of these creatures occupy. While its body is largely bird-like in shape, it has a head resembling that of a ''Pteranodon'' with a few teeth in its lower jaw, a vertically flattened tail not unlike that of certain long-tailed pterosaurs (but much shorter), and weird-looking RazorWings that resemble Venetian blinds more than anything else.
* ''VideoGame/PrimalCarnage'': The ''Pteranodon'' follow the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' recipe as per usual, though in this case it's outright stated that all of the dniosaurs were genetically altered. Earlier designs in particular had misshapen wings and disproportionately small, short heads, though later models remedied these flaws and kept the animals toothless. Commendably, they are one of the few examples that use the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8hz4HGS_jc quadrupedal launch]] [[ShownTheirWork as real pterosaurs probably did.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Rime}}'' features a bird-creature whose wing structure is reminiscent of pterosaurs, namely having a membrane supported by an elongated finger. Somewhat averted in that it's ''not'' a pterosaur.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'': The first game features two monsters, the Air Screamer and the Night Flutter, based on illustrations from one of Alessa's favorite books, ''Literature/{{The Lost World|1912}}'' by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle. This being ''Franchise/SilentHill'', the flying horrors haven been twisted by the town, with the Air Screamer resembling a hideously emaciated pterodactyl/bat hybrid and the Night Flutter possessing a human-like body and a wriggling mass of worms for a head.
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' has stereotypical "pterodactyls" living in the [[AnachronismStew Ice Age]].
* ''VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries'': Sonic and the Secret Rings'' has King Shahryar (played by Dr. Eggman) getting snatched away by a ''Pteranodon''. Other than its size and strength, the ''Pteranodon'' doesn't look too bad, and it even picks up Shahryar with its beak instead of its feet.
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'':
** ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage'' has "pterodactyls" that look like birds, grasp like birds, and make hawk-like noises.
** ''VideoGame/SpyroEnterTheDragonfly'' featured "Flying Riptocs", which resemble bat-winged ''Pteranodon''.
** ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' updates the design of the "pterodactyls" from ''Ripto's Rage''. While retaining the grasping feet, they look more like real pterosaurs this time around, namely having the three small wing claws and "fur". They are also given teeth, making them resemble ''Caulkicephalus''.
* ''Videogame/StarControl'' gives us both the Yehat, an alien race whose members look like 3 meters-tall, bumblebee-colored Pteranodons (supplementary material describes them as a mix between an old-Earth pterosaur and a bumblebee and game dialog has them refering themselves as "birds of prey", feathers being also mentioned), with bat-like and three-clawed wings, and forward-looking bright eyes with a small sphere above them, and the Pkunk, an offshot of them seemingly wingless and with a toucan-like beak.
* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' gives us the [=CloudRunner=] Tribe, which are bipedal ''Pteranodon'' with long tails and single-clawed wings that fold like birds.
* ''VideoGame/StriderArcade'': ''Pteranodon'' are enemies in the [[JungleJapes Amazon]] level, and they look sort of allright outside of their leathery pointy wings. The fact they exist in the year 2048 is justified as they (like all other dinosaurs in the stage) were bio-engineered by the BigBad as one of his experiments.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'': The fossils in the 9th floor include ''Ludodactylus'' skeletons that carry a large egg with their feet.
** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'':
*** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'': Blablanadon, fittingly named for his [[MotorMouth chatty nature]]. The brothers rescue him from a monster atop Hoohoo Mountain named Dragohoho [[spoiler:(really Prince Peasley having been [[ForcedTransformation cursed into that form]] by Cackletta)]], and, at the end of the game, he takes them to and from Bowser's flying castle [[spoiler:(now being manned by [[DemonicPossession Bowletta]])]].
*** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'': Pi'illodactyls have batlike wings and gigantic, jagged beaks. Still, you could at least argue they're a fictional species from a fantasy world.
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'' follows the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' pterosaur model once more.
* The original ''VideoGame/ZooTycoon'' had a building called a "Pteranodon House" which doesn't actually have ''Pteranodon'' exhibited inside (it houses ''Dimorphodon'', ''Pterodactylus'' and ''Rhamphorhynchus'' instead). There are also some custom fan-mods of pterosaurs created for the second game that vary in terms of accuracy, a few have ShownTheirWork.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}'', no stranger to bouts of [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology artistic licence]], averts this with highly accurate ''Geosternbergia'', portrayed as fuzzy, rightly proportioned and behaving realistically, diving underwater and even communicating in simplistic beak claps instead of using bird sounds.
* WebOriginal/{{Mortasheen}}:
** [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/pteracide.htm Pteracide]], an acid-spraying flyer that's next to naked with a skull that looks ''nothing'' like any real pterosaur, but is quadrupedal and supports each wing with one finger, and much later, the [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/gunkergeist.htm Gunkergeist]], a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot flightless ghostly azdharchid]] that [[SuperSpit spits gobs of]] GreyGoo at its prey. The artist in question normally [[ShownTheirWork does his research]] on the animals his monsters are based on, so it's almost guaranteed that these monsters was intended to be deliberately over-the-top.
** Played slightly straighter, and with even more BodyHorror thrown in, is the [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/vaporgeist.htm Vaporgeist]], which looks like the Crystal Palace depictions of pterosaurs crossed with a disembodied pair of lungs, bearing a branching tubular snout instead of a beak that can [[BreathWeapon spray clouds of]] [[DeadlyGas poisonous gas]].
* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'':
** The [[http://www.neopets.com/pteri/ Pteri]]. As its name suggests, [[http://images.neopets.com/pp/pteri.gif its design is very reminiscent of a really small, adorable pterodactyl]] and it is native to [[{{Prehistoria}} Tyrannia,]] but it's commonly referred to as a [[AllFlyersAreBirds bird]]. It's is possible that the Pteri might be based on an ''Archaeopteryx'', given its feathers and long tail.
** [[spoiler:The "Lair of the Beast" (also in Tyrannia) is a standard scary pterodactyl]].
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 7, a Pterosaur-like [[AnimalisticAbomination Grimm]] known as the Teryx debuted. It is shown to be able to grow to almost the size of an Atlesian gunship.
* Website/SCPFoundation: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-346 SCP-346,]] a miniature pterodactyl one of the researchers keeps as a pet (though at the very least it appears to have pycnofibres, and is most likely a previously undiscovered species).
* Creator/{{Trinzilla}}: Frequently averted; the mascot and signature RunningGag is an accurate depiction of an adult male ''Pteranodon''.
* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'':
** Subverted; a PTA meeting gets attacked by what [[CharacterNarrator Cecil]] identifies as pteranodons/flying dinosaurs. Later, however, he issues this correction:
--->''"Secret police are now reporting that the offending beasts were not pteranodons after all, but pterodactyls. Also, pteranodons aren't even dinosaurs, as the station had previously stated -- just winged reptiles that lived about 70 million years after pterodactyls."''
** [[DoubleSubversion Subverted again]] in a later episode. Pteranodons aren't dinosaurs; they're arachnids.
* The idea of fictional pterosaurs being dragons with the numbers filed off is parodied with relish [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/babbletrish/6188862899/in/photostream/ near the bottom of this comic]].
* Discussed and defied in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo9NpyPVuwI this]] video, part of a series discussing inaccurate dinosaur toys.
* Parodied along with many other paleo-inaccuracies in [[http://tomozaurus.deviantart.com/art/Meet-The-Pseudosaurs-282772529 "Meet the Pseudosaurs"]].
%%* Naturally, Prehistoric TV Reconstruction Kitteh [[http://optimisticpainter.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/kitteh-in-terrordactile/ has some fun with this.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': The beginning of "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS5E40PlayDate Play Date]]" has a ''Pteranodon'' that carries Finn and Jake with its small wing fingers. At least it isn't its feet this time.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In one episode, Buster states that he's always wanted a pterosaur (referred to as, surprise surprise, a "pterodactyl") as a pet, rationalizing that it would be "like having a parrot that can [[GiantFlyer give him rides to the movies]]". This is accompanied by an ImagineSpot (which justifies all of its numerous inaccuracies by default) of Buster riding a fairly generic looking pterosaur into the air. In another episode, a much ''less'' accurate one (bipedal, bat-winged, bird footed, scaly, etc.) also appeared in an ImagineSpot.
* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': Dr. Fossil from "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E23JurassicJumble Jurassic Jumble]]" is an EvilutionaryBiologist who transformed himself into a humanoid ''Pteranodon'' (with bat-like wings).
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}}'': Terrible Dactyl is supposed to be a ''Pteranodon'', but his actual design was mostly ''Rhamphorhynchus''.
* ''WesternAnimation/DinosaurTrain'':
** There's a traditional cartoony ''Pteranodon'' as among the main cast, being scaly, cold-blooded, green, bipedal creatures with bat wings. Thankfully, at least the pterosaurs have wings that were supported by one finger, can fly actively and efficiently, and are acknowledged as not being dinosaurs, the ''Pteranodons'' do not have teeth, and several dinosaurs like the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and the ''Troodon'' are equally more cartoony than realistic.
** The other pterosaurs that show up generally fare somewhat better in the accuracy department than the ''Pteranodon'' family (notably ''Quetzalcoatlus'' [[ShownTheirWork is correctly described as being a terrestrial forager]]), though most are still erroneously bipedal.
** [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2hK_oCmhqUY/Tlv4RMMNH5I/AAAAAAAABXs/ELw_b5dqNso/s1600/dt.png Here's is how Tiny should have looked (alongside accurate images of Buddy and The Counductor).]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': Dinosaur-themed episodes feature the stereotypical "Pterodactyl" (scaly, bat-winged, eagle-footed, bipedal, ''Pteranodon''-like crest alongside teeth, ''Rhamphorhynchus''-like tail, etc.).
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'':
** The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJNdCFptI6k Meet Scrooge!]]" short features a ''Pteranodon'' which is bird-footed (with two toes in front and one in back), apparently naked (though the art style makes it hard to tell), does not have enough fingers, and has weird-looking wing membranes attached to the hips, but at least it doesn't have teeth or bat-like wings or a long tail.
** "Quack Pack!" briefly showed a photo of Donald getting carried off by a ''Ludodactylus''-looking pterosaur with teeth-like serrations lining the beak and bony rods supporting the wing[[note]]which is jarring given the ''Pteranodon'' from the abovementioned short and the ''Geosternbergia'' skeleton seen in Scrooge's garage both correctly didn't have this trait[[/note]]. At least it's not carrying him with its feet (which still have two toes in front and one in back).
* ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'': Bullzeye is a toothed ''Pteranodon'' with bat wings, and gains an additional set of arms upon mutation. As a result, he's mistaken for a dragon in one episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'': Any episode that involves dinosaurs or TimeTravel will have pterosaurs that fit the criterion of inaccuracies listed on this page: bat wings, scaly skin, feet that grab humans from midair, desire to hunt humans for no reason, gigantic, etc.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' is the primary example of the typical western pterosaur.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E9AClockworkOrigin A Clockwork Origin]]" has a robotic ''Pteranodon'' that carries off Fry to feed him to its young.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** The "pterodactyl" from "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E18TheLandBeforeSwine The Land Before Swine]]", which looks like an unholy mixture of all stereotypes, down to the naked skin, being called a "dinosaur", having eagle-like hindlimbs and a bird neck, leathery wings, having a ''Pteranodon'' crest alongside rather mismatched teeth, making chicken-like nests and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking having zero body fat]]. Strangely enough, though, it walks quadrupedally, like a real pterosaur. The {{Defictionaliz|ation}}ed Journal 3 subverts this by correctly identifying it as a pterosaur.
** One of the exhibits at the Mystery Shack is a fake ''Pteranodon'' perching bipedally on a stump. At least it's toothless and appears to have pycnofibres.
* ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois l'homme'': Played with in the first episode, whose depiction of a ''Pteranodon'' is actually FairForItsDay.
* ''WesternAnimation/ImADinosaur'' has a ''Sordes'' whose pycnofibres are inaccurately identified as feathers and a scaly ''Pteranodon'' that lives inland. Both perch in trees, are bipedal and and have three fingers (including the wing finger).
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': One episode has a scaly ''Pteranodon'' able carry Sheen to its nest using its feet. At least it doesn't have teeth or a long tail...
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'': Turu the trained (and toothed) ''Pteranodon''. Turu is depicted as gigantic and bipedal, and is shown grabbing Dr. Quest with his feet and carrying him away through the air. He is also unrealistically durable, surviving multiple hits from bazooka rounds (although they eventually send him plummeting to his doom into a tar pit).\\
\\
Turu reappears briefly on ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', since it was inspired by and occasionally crosses over with ''Jonny Quest''. In "Venture Libre", Turu is Dr. Venture's first taste of the weirdness going on in the jungle of Puerta Bahia, which his own rogue creation has turned into a refuge for victims of unethical super science. Though still enormous, grasping and damaging a jet the size of a Concorde, this incarnation of Turu has no teeth-like serrations on his bill. The tendency to mix up pterosaur species is lampshaded when one of the refugees demands that Dr. Venture be killed for being a super scientist and for murdering Turu:
-->'''Dr. Venture:''' Is Turu a pterodactyl?\\
'''Carl the Cheetah-Man:''' ''Pteranodon'', you monster!\\
'''Venturestein:''' See, he not even good at science.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'': In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueActionS1E31BoostersGold Booster's Gold]]", ComicBook/GreenArrow is attacked by a prehistoric flying reptile and correctly identifies it as a pterosaur. Then, less than a minute later, he refers to it as a dinosaur. So close.
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuDinoPosse'': Jet has the same problem as Bullzeye: he has bat-wings and an additional set of arms. He also has a long tail, although it at least lacks the diamond-shaped tip.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'': One of the strangest examples is present in "A Day At The Museum", where creatures resembling stereotypical ''Pteranodon'' appear... except that they are clearly ''birds'', with feathery wings, eagle-like talons and overall avian design, resembling eagles except for the head and tail.
* ''WesternAnimation/MilesFromTomorrowland'' features ''Pteranodon'' that live on another planet. The ''Pteranodon'' are fairly accurate in anatomy, even being quadrupedal (although it can stand on its hindlegs for a fair amount of time) and having pycnofibres. [[ShownTheirWork Commendably]], Professor Rubicon points out that ''Pteranodon'' is not a dinosaur but a flying reptile, in response to Miles calling it a "flying dinosaur".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Primal}}'': Spear the caveman encounters a pterosaur in the first episode. It appears to be a [[MixAndMatchCritters combination of different species]], with the massive size and long neck of ''Quetzalcoatlus'', the elongated crest of ''Pteranodon'', teeth like smaller pterosaurs, and fleshy wattles. Other inaccuracies include it having an excellent smell, smooth skin with no pycnofibers, four claws plus an elongated finger in its front limbs, and taking off from a bipedal stance. On the plus side, it walks quadrupedally on the ground and seems to be a fish-eater going after Spear's catch. Subsequent episodes have seen cameos by other pterosaurs, [[DependingOnTheArtist of varying degrees of scientific accuracy]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In "Runaway Reptar", [[RentAZilla Dactar]] is this by virtue of being a Rodan {{Expy}}. Ironically, he looks more like an actual ''Pteranodon'' than Rodan himself did (aside from the teeth and long tail).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'': "Hang in There, Scooby-Doo" features the Pterodactyl Ghost, which is supposedly the spirit of a pterosaur said to have evolved a humanoid body plan. At least they made sure to refer to pterosaurs as separate from dinosaurs.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' averts this with Zon. For one side, she has fur and wings somewhat shaped like a real pterosaur's and she walks on all fours. On the other hand, the wing structure itself is wrong, she is cold-blooded, she has five fingers (including an additional thumb), she can stand on two legs for quite some time and that is how she takes off. It is possible that the anatomical mistakes are just to make her appropriately "cartoony" for the show, as the authors do seem to actually do research.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS23E6TheBookJob The Book Job]]" featured an animatronic ''Pteranodon'' which looks relatively decent in anatomy (wing supported by fourth finger, toothless bill, non-grasping feet, etc.) with the only flaws being too skinny and apparent lack of fur or pteroid bone (although it may be because of the art style). "Days of Future Future" featured a living ''Pteranodon'' identical to the aforementioned animatronic, which grabs a dollar from a woman in the audience [[ShownTheirWork using its beak instead of its feet]].
** The final segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS30E4TreehouseOfHorrorXXIX Treehouse of Horror XXIX]]", parodying ''Jurassic Park'', has Agnes Skinner transforming into a bipedal ''Ludodactylus''.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Sebastian the crow is an unique inversion: he's a bird, but his Solarian warrior form looks like a reasonably accurate ''Ornithocheirus''.
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'': The Chickadactyls from "King Scoopa Koopa" are an odd case. Despite their name suggesting they are pterosaurs, they are visibly chicken-like theropod dinosaurs with scutes on their tails.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': A cartoony "''Pteranodon''" (consistently referred to as a "pterodactyl") is one of Beast Boy's many animal forms.
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Terrorsaur's alt-mode is a ''Pteranodon'' with a beak full of teeth, and a scaly skin. He moved on the ground by hopping on his tiny back legs. A funny sight, actually.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': ''Dinobot Island Part 1'' features all kinds of Mesozoic reptiles, including a [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/ed/Dinobotisland_ham_on_his_eggs.jpg pterosaur]] which decided that one of the TokenHuman characters was a snack.%%Swoop, the ''Pteranodon'' Dinobot.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}'', Cravex's Totem animal is the Phylot, a Prysmosian creature similar to a pterosaur. It is said to be "the only airborne scavenger on Prysmos".
* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinChronicles'': In "Tigress Woo", Tomoko has a size-shifting pterosaur (its species is not identified, but it has a ''Pteranodon'' or ''Ludodactylus'' crest [[note]]given it has teeth, it's looks like the latter, though it's probably meant to be the former. [[/note]]) named Dina which she uses as a mean of transport. As always, it's scaly, bipedal, with bat wings and its name obviously shouts "dinosaur". Justified, for being a magical creature from another dimension.
* The animated adaptation of the book ''Patrick's Dinosaurs'' (a book about an imaginative boy being taught about dinosaurs by his big brother and envisioning them through vivid fantasy sequences) features a nondescript "pterodactyl" that is both claimed to be a dinosaur and visually looks less like any sort of pterosaur and more like a stork. It doesn't even look like an azhdarchid. This scene was absent from the original book version. In the sequel, ''What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs?'', we get much better looking pterosaurs of various genera (but obviously, most of them are Pteranodons).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://paleoking.blogspot.com/2011/05/strange-journey-of-david-peters.html David Peters,]] an artist, is infamous for having rather...''controversial'' portrayals of pterosaurs that he is absolutely convinced are scientific fact. Among other things, he's convinced that pterosaurs were lizards or related to lizards, that all pterosaurs were bipedal and that the quadrupedal launch was physically impossible (instead, he thinks they launched [[http://pterosaurheresies.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/quetzalcoatlus72running588.gif like this]]), that ''Jeholopterus'' was [[http://www.reptileevolution.com/images/lepidosauromorpha/diadectidae/lepidosauriformes/fenestrasauria/pterosauria/jeholopterus/Jeholopterus588.jpg a vampire bat analogue with many unnecessary appendages on its body]] and [[SmallNameBigEgo that so many well-known scientists are wrong]]. His evidence for pterosaur anatomy as he sees it? Taking extremely poor photographs and putting them through photoshop and coloring every random crack he can find, claiming that that's some sort of feature that those ignorant scientists clearly never caught. Yeah. Peters is taken down at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_htQ8HJ1cA this video]] by Aron Ra, one that sets out to counter this trope in its entirety.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludodactylus Ludodactylus,]]'' which was one of the first crested ''and'' toothed pterosaurs to be discovered, got its name to reference this trope (its name means "Toy Finger"). The name was a RealLife lampshading of the fact that, at the time, such a combination was considered almost paradoxical outside fictionland, but thanks to this discovery, pterosaurs with teeth and crest are now AccidentallyCorrectZoology. The related ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caulkicephalus Caulkicephalus]]'' appears to have had a similar teeth-and-crest combo. It also possessed a keeled crest on its snout much like ''Ornithocheirus'', making it resemble an outright MixAndMatchCritter. That said, they still don't have rhamphorhynchoid styled long tails and sported fuzzy pycnofibers like any other pterosaur would; so they don't look exactly like this trope.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpactognathus Harpactognathus]]'' was probably the only known pterosaur to even remotely resemble one of the ones seen in the cartoons and movies; it was a rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur with sharp teeth, a long tail and a crest and was also a predator, hunting and eating small animals from above. It was also [[BiggerIsBetter rather large]] by rhamphorhynchoid standards, with a wingspan of up to eight feet, though that is still rather puny compared to pterodactyloid pterosaurs and many birds. Even then, however, it lacks several other qualities of this trope (for example, it couldn't pick things up with its feet).
* Justified with the ''Pterodactylus'' sculptures at the famous Crystal Palace garden in London; they're scaly and have flexible birdlike necks, [[FairForItsDay but for their time]], they were ''accurate''. The sculptures were made when paleontology as a whole was in its infancy, so very little was known about prehistoric life. The Crystal Palace sculptures were based on the best knowledge that was available at the time. While most of that knowledge has not aged well, it represented the cutting edge of paleontology back then. One aspect that ''has'' stood the test of time, though, is the fact that they're shown as [[ShownTheirWork typically quadrupedal]], with a few of them rearing up and spreading their wings just to look more impressive.
* A full-sized ''Pteranodon'' model hangs in the Milwaukee Airport, just in front of the food court. It's actually very accurate, with one wing-finger, no teeth, ptero-fuzz and [[ShownTheirWork webbed feet!]]
* The trope can be traced to Victorian era science when [[ScienceMarchesOn pterosaurs were just discovered.]] Since scientists had poor understanding of the animals, they portrayed them as the eagle-like monster so commonly shown in fiction. In fact a lot of ArtisticLicensePaleontology related tropes can be traced back to Victorian era science when dinosaurs first captured the public imagination.
* This is one of the reasons pterosaur-like cryptids are given an especially high amount of skepticism [[EveryoneHasStandards even by cryptozoologists]]. Logistics of hiding a living or fossil population of large-bodied flying animals aside, without fail witness reports always describe animals that look like outdated pop cultural reconstructions than reality. Leathery or scaly bodied, long tails with spiky headcrests, mouthfuls of teeth, and being bipedal. In essence, witnessed whom probably saw a large bird or bat in lowlighting and had their imagination fill in the rest, describe something more like Rodan than anything from the fossil record.
[[/folder]]
----

* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'' also has pretty stock pterosaurs, which are apparently supposed to be ''Pteranodon''. They lack "fur" and are only seen on the ground when they die, flapping pathetically (although they landed in a bipedal stance at one point). They also attack Regina by -- you guessed it -- hoisting her up into the air with their feet, with one death scene showing them carrying away her 100+ pound corpse. Granted, if they did not attack her it would be [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality a fairly boring game and would make them a pointless enemy]], but their motivation is apparently to eat her. Oddly enough, at least one [[AllThereInTheManual strategy guide]] [[LampshadeHanging points out the errors of a]] ''[[LampshadeHanging Pteranodon]]'' [[LampshadeHanging predating on a human]] [[WildMassGuessing and speculates that they are attacking her for territorial reasons]].

If you see a pterosaur represented in any piece of fiction, the odds are good that it will have at least one of the common stereotypical (and inaccurate) traits listed at [[http://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/whats-wrong-with-pterosaurs-a-top-10/ these]] [[http://www.pterosaur.net/myths.php websites.]] The contents of these lists are summarized in the folder below.

And for the record, this trope's title is obviously a {{pun}} on the words "pterosaur" and "soarer".

[[folder:List of Common Inaccuracies in Media]]
* Using the names "pterosaur" and "pterodactyl" as if they were synonyms. "Pterosaur" is used for the ''total'' group of the Mesozoic flying "reptiles."[[note]]Using "reptile" here in its traditional paraphyletic sense, excluding birds.[[/note]] "Pterodactyl" is either a name for a subgroup of pterosaurs or a genus name for a particular pterosaur, ''Pterodactylus''. To put this into perspective, this would be as bad as calling every primate you met a "gorilla," if referring to the genus name, or "ape," if referring to the subgroup name; while it's acceptable to refer to hominoids as apes, it's not acceptable to refer to primates as a whole as apes, since monkeys, lemurs, lorises, tarsiers and bushbabies aren't apes. In a similar manner, pterodactyloids were indeed an advanced group of pterosaurs and the word "pterodactyl" can be used to refer to them, but "pterodactyl" and "pterosaur" do not mean the same thing.[[note]]It's quite telling how pervasive this trope is when ''spellcheck'' recognizes "pterodactyl" but not ''Pteranodon''[[/note]]
* Designing the pterosaurs with bat-like wings rather than anatomically correct pterosaur ones. This ranges from having leathery wings made of nothing but skin to having the whole wing membrane being supported by all the fingers. In reality, pterosaur wings were made of tougher, more complicated materials and were supported by one finger. They should also attach at the ankle or at the lower leg, not at the hip. Scientific evidence suggests that pterosaurs had [[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018215004824?casa_token=TkWulPej4ycAAAAA:Avc-3ldNq-xLSS_pwr1DHngugs7HplfT7gczp4p68gAkMMVUWIi5kghorYa8XnBdZitDXFoWkA curved or smooth]] [[https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/10947/Hone%20The%20wingtips%20of%20the%20pterosaurs%202015%20Accepted.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y wing tips]], [[https://twitter.com/Dave_Hone/status/1518678185151541248 to avoid the stress of damages during flight]].
* Essentially, [[IAmNotWeasel Pterosaurs aren't Dinosaurs]]. Pterosaurs were closely related to the dinosaurs, being more closely related to each other than to modern crocodiles, but pterosaurs were not dinosaurs themselves. (For comparison, it's like how canines and felines are both in the "Carnivora" group, but dogs are not cats and cats are not dogs.)
* MixAndMatchCritters. Two pterosaur species will be combined into one hybridised design.
* BiggerIsBetter. The pterosaurs on show will be truly gigantic, far larger than the fossil record can justify. There is some TruthInTelevision for this belief, as creatures like ''Quetzalcoatlus'' currently hold the record for the largest wingspans ever known. However, this is at best 12 metres, and is based on scanty evidence. In fiction, beasts with much larger wingspans are [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerations]].
* ToothyBird trope applied to pterosaurs. Specifically, this is when a pterosaur (like the iconic ''Pteranodon'') is shown [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily having teeth, sometimes a horrifying set of gnashers]], instead of a toothless beak (the name "pteranodon" actually means "Toothless wing"). Occasionally this can be reversed when a normally toothy pterosaur (like ''Rhamphorhynchus'') looks like it had a run-in with an angry dentist.
* On that note, any and all pterosaurs being depicted with crests. While this was one of the things that made ''Pteranodon'' so famous, it should be noted that many pterosaurs lacked crests, and those that did possess them had very differently sized and shaped ones. Additionally, people will often make the mistake of depicting female ''Pteranodons'' [[AnimalGenderBender with crests like their male counterparts]]. Female ''Pteranodons'' actually had much smaller crests, if not no crests at all. Similarly, a pterosaur that should have a crest in real life would be depicted as crestless. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and ''Pterodactylus'' are frequent victims of this, mostly due to ScienceMarchesOn.
* Pterosaurs in fiction [[DeathFromAbove will grab objects with their feet]] [[KidnappingBirdOfPrey and hoist them into the air]], presumably to be carried away and eaten. Pterosaur feet were designed for quadrupedal walking on the ground, or for climbing vertical objects or branch systems depending on the species.[[note]]Although that claim is subject to controversy.[[/note]] No known pterosaur had prehensile feet with opposable digits, which makes any depiction of pterosaurs picking humans up with their feet inaccurate. In a similar vein, many works are also guilty of portraying pterosaurs as digitigrade (walking on their toes), rather than plantigrade (walking on their whole foot) as they were in life, with the feet often resembling those of birds, and occasionally giving them an incorrect number of toes on each foot - the correct number should be four (though some primitive ones had five), instead of three (see: Harryhausen's ''Pteranodon'' from ''One Million Years B.C.'') or five (see: the ''Pteranodons'' from ''Jurassic Park III'').
** Interestingly, while many groups of pterosaurs seem to have occupied niches similar to modern birds and bats, (coastal piscivores, stork-like hunters, bat-like insectivores, flamingo-like filter-feeders, etc.), no known group of pterosaurs seems to have evolved to fill the niche of raptor-like aerial predators. While some taxa, like ''Harpactognathus'', ''Darwinopterus'', and ''Campylognathoides'' have occasionally been interpreted as eagle-like hunters by certain workers (though if true, they would have been using their jaws instead of their feet for catching prey), many of their colleagues have disagreed with those interpretations.
* Giving a pterosaur a bendy, birdlike neck. While the flexibility of a pterosaur's neck varied with the species, none of them had the skinny, pipe-cleaner like necks that some birds have.
* MisplacedWildlife or AnachronismStew, unless it is crucial to the plot (for instance, a LostWorld that contains a SoleSurvivor species is discovered and [[AnthropicPrinciple the plot rests on that premise]]).
** Showing ''Pteranodon'' coexisting with T. rex is an example of the [[AnachronismStew latter]], as although both are from Late Cretaceous North America, ''Pteranodon'' died out about 12 million years before T. rex shows up in the fossil record, though pteranodontids similar to it would have been contemporaries of T. rex, and the giant ''Quetzalcoatlus'' did indeed coexist with T. rex and many of its famous neighbors like ''Triceratops''.
** Showing giant pterosaurs existing in the Jurassic or Triassic. All pterosaurs that grew larger than an eagle were Cretaceous pterodactyloids, and similarly, showing gigantic rhamphorhynchids (the long-tailed variety) is inaccurate, as the biggest known taxa had (at most) a 10-foot wingspan, like ''Dearc'', and most were under 7 feet, while Triassic pterosaurs were even smaller.
* SmallTaxonomyPools, perhaps because the creators wanted to avoid the ViewersAreGeniuses trope, because they [[SmallReferencePools simply hadn't heard of them]], or because they didn't bother to do their homework. ''Pteranodon'' is easily the most recognizable of all pterosaurs in popular culture, with ''Rhamphorhynchus'' coming a close second. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' may get a mention, but the chances of meeting any other pterosaur species in fiction is virtually nil. ''Dimorphodon'' of ''Jurassic World'' is a rare exception.
* Missing pycnofibres (fuzz only known on pterosaurs). Pterosaurs are almost always depicted as scaly, despite the growing evidence that most, if not all, of them had pycnofibres.
* [[KillAllHumans Pterosaurs will have an inexplicable desire to attack or kill humans on sight]]. This one may be justified if the pterosaur in question is a PapaWolf or a MamaBear defending its nest, or has some other biologically plausible behaviour, but usually it's as if the pterosaurs have looked up the HumansAreBastards page in advance -- essentially, [[DinosaursAreDragons Pterosaurs Are Dragons]]. Some of the largest azhdarchids like ''Hatzegopteryx'' were large enough to have snatched up a human and swallowed it whole if it were hungry and nothing else of the right size was around.[[note]]The animal would be ''walking'' or ''galloping'' up to you instead of snatching you on the fly.[[/note]] ''Thalassodromeus'' was also known to have possessed powerful jaws that could suggest a tendency to prey on large animals.
* Speaking of diet, pterosaurs are frequently depicted as exclusive fish- or meat-eaters. As an analogy, modern birds and bats don't ONLY eat fish or other animals, even if some species do. Many of the known pterosaur fossil finds do show that some species ate fish, but pterosaur diets were more diverse; other species fed on insects or smaller land vertebrates (Azdarchids like the aforementioned ''Hatzegopteryx'' were in fact most likely terrestrial hunters, rather than vulture-like scavengers as is still suggested in modern media), and some species may have eaten fruit and seeds too.
* [[WeaksauceWeakness Expect any fictional pterosaur that lands on the ground to be hopelessly lost]]. Real pterosaurs were more than capable of walking on firm ground -- not only were some of them scarily competent at it, but new evidence now suggests that they could even ''take off from level ground'', using their wings to vault themselves into the air rather like vampire bats do today. Similarly, pterosaurs are frequently depicted as being bipedal like birds; in reality, pterosaurs were quadrupedal, as their musculature is focused on their forelimbs, while their hindlimbs are small, positioned at the very back of their bodies, and quite weak. Pterosaurs are also depicted sprawling or with their limbs straight under their bodies, when they were actually somewhere in between.
* On that note, you can expect any fictional pterosaur that finds itself in the water to be rendered temporarily flightless at best, or helplessly drown at worst. This is particularly bad, because not only is it based on nothing, it also has plenty of evidence ''against'' it -- evidence that isn't even all that recent! In reality, it's been proven by fossilized trackways and oft-forgotten traces of webbing between a fossilized pterosaur's toes that some (though not ''all'') pterosaurs would actually have been very good swimmers, floating on top of the water like ducks or seabirds, with their wings spread flat on the water. In addition, there is ongoing work that strongly suggests most pterosaurs (even those not typically found near aquatic environments) were quite capable of launching from the water if they needed to.[[note]]Though it wouldn't have been very easy, as [[http://www.amnh.org/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/news-and-blogs/april-2014-news-and-blogs/pteranodon-over-water-gif/1326854-2-eng-US/pteranodon-over-water-gif_medium.gif this gif demonstrates.]][[/note]] The worst danger they would face in this situation would be the predatory aquatic reptiles that lurk beneath the surface and while they [[http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-life-aquatic-with-flying-reptiles.html were probably too top-heavy to hold their heads up the same way birds do when they swim,]] there's no reason to assume that pterosaurs would be completely helpless if they found themselves in the water.
* Lacking [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Pterosaur_wing_BW2.jpg the pteroid bone;]] this bone was found on each wing and controlled the front part of it. It was an anatomical feature unique to pterosaurs, as no other animal (living or extinct) has been discovered with anything even remotely similar.
* Portraying pterosaurs as [[AllFlyersAreBirds birds or the ancestors of birds]] -- while pterosaurs did fly, the actual ancestors of birds were true dinosaurs--more specifically, the maniraptor dinosaurs. Also, pterosaurs will often be shown to take good care of their eggs in the same way as birds, even teaching their young how to fly. But then it was suggested that they more likely simply laid their eggs and were done with that, like a modern lizard (there ''is'' a theory that larger pterosaurs would protect their eggs while they were incubating and then dig them out of where they were buried, but even then it was believed that they'd leave the minute the eggs hatched), since fossils of baby pterosaurs show they were capable of flight from birth. However, this idea is also controversial, as today's archosaurs practice parental care and even the ones that are active from hatching, like ostriches and crocodiles, still had their parents looking after them. It would be logical that pterosaurs stayed with their young until they reached adulthood, if only to offer them protection and guide them to food.
* Like many dinosaurs (though not as much), pterosaurs in the media slip into RealIsBrown territory. In reality, we can be relatively confident that living pterosaurs would have been [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife brightly and flamboyantly colored]]. Like most other reptiles, pterosaurs would have had excellent eyesight and been capable of seeing colors, and the ones with crests likely used them as visual signals to communicate with other pterosaurs. This is further supported with findings in 2017, when an unnamed tapejarid was discovered with fossilized melanosomes (pigment cells). Based on the types of melanin found in its fossil, its fur would have been black and its crest would have been red.
* There's a pervasive misconception that pterosaurs went extinct or at least declined significantly due to competition with birds ([[ScienceMarchesOn this is more often found in older works]], but still pops up every now and again). Historically, this notion has been based on the perception that pterosaurs appeared to have gone into decline around the same time birds diversified in the fossil record, but newer research suggests this phenomenon was far less dramatic than initially thought and probably had nothing to do with avialan radiation. In fact at least one group of pterosaurs, the stork-like azhdarchids, were still doing just fine right up to the K-Pg boundary and were continuing to evolve and diversify at a healthy rate straight to the end of the Maastrichtian. Possible Maastrichtian remains of nyctosaurids, tapejarids, and pteranodontids may even suggest that a decline in pterosaur diversity never actually happened at all, simply being an artifact of preservation bias. There's even a few evidenced cases of pterosaurs ''taking back'' niches which had previously been occupied by birds. Much like their non-avian dinosaur cousins, it's not unreasonable to speculate that pterosaurs would still be around today if not for a certain asteroid.
[[/folder]]

In OneMillionBC, dinosaurs were awesome. But who says their airborne cousins can't join the fun, either?

* ''Literature/TheNewDinosaursAnAlternativeEvolution'': Dougal Dixon is an example, despite complaining about this trope. In ''The New Dinosaurs'', most of the pterosaurs resemble some unholy amalgam between mammal and bird, with rampant heterodont dentition, bipedalism, and use of the wing finger for walking on. This is mostly due to [[ScienceMarchesOn science marching on]] however, as the book was written in the 1980s when pterosaur knowledge was still thin on the ground.

->''"For most of us, 'pterodactyls' are imagined as large, vicious and ugly gargoyles with lanky limbs, leathery wings and jaws lined with savage teeth, the sort of disreputable brutes we find in Arthur Conan Doyle's ''[[Literature/TheLostWorld1912 The Lost World]]'', the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' franchise – even a recent episode of ''Franchise/DoctorWho''. Such works suggest we should think ourselves lucky that these flying reptiles – some of which measured 10 metres across the wings and stood as tall as giraffes – were confined to landscapes populated by equally terrible dinosaurs, marine reptiles and turbulent volcanoes during a time known as the Mesozoic era (250m-65m years ago) and that they aren't alive today to menace mankind. Of course, the popular understanding of these fossil animals and their world is only a distant echo of reality, a construct of poor scientific communication, melodramatic media and romantic storytellers."''

* There's a rumour that ''Film/CitizenKane'' has some pterosaurs flying by in the background during a picnic scene. The legend goes that it's rear-projected StockFootage from ''Film/TheSonOfKong'', which RKO had lying around, apparently figuring that in their very brief screentime most audiences would assume they were birds. However, ''The Son of Kong'' [[PopCultureUrbanLegend contains no such scene]], so the exact identity of those animated things flying around in the background at Charles Foster Kane's beach party remains unclear.

* Wiki/SCPFoundation: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-346 SCP-346,]] a miniature pterodactyl one of the researchers keeps as a pet (though at the very least it appears to have pycnofibres, and is most likely a previously undiscovered species).

** Interestingly, while many groups of pterosaurs seem to have occupied niches similar to modern birds and bats, (many pterosaurs were analogous to various seabirds, some were stork-like hunters, others were tiny insectivores hawking their prey, vulture-like scavengers, etc.), no known group of pterosaurs seems to have evolved to fill the niche of raptor-like aerial predators. While some taxa, like ''Harpactognathus'', ''Darwinopterus'', and ''Campylognathoides'' have occasionally been interpreted as eagle-like hunters by certain workers (though if true, they would have been using their jaws instead of their feet for catching prey), many of their colleagues have disagreed with those interpretations.

* ''WebOriginal/MultituberculateEarth'' is mostly about a world where multituberculates ruled instead of placental mammals. However, a semi-non-canonical entry has birds dying out and being replaced by [[https://multituberculateearth.wordpress.com/2022/07/03/nyctosaurid-earth/ nyctosaurid pterosaurs]], which much like the multituberculates are depicted up-to-date with various papers to back up the creative decisions.

* Portraying pterosaurs as [[AllFlyersAreBirds birds or the ancestors of birds]] -- while pterosaurs did fly, the actual ancestors of birds were true dinosaurs--more specifically, the maniraptor dinosaurs. Also, pterosaurs will often be shown to take good care of their eggs in the same way as birds, even teaching their young how to fly. But then it was suggested that they more likely simply laid their eggs and were done with that, like a modern lizard (there ''is'' a theory that larger pterosaurs would protect their eggs while they were incubating and then dig them out of where they were buried, but even then it was believed that they'd leave the minute the eggs hatched), since fossils of baby pterosaurs show they were capable of flight from birth. However, this idea is also controversial, as today's archosaurs practice parental care and even the ones that are active from hatching, like ostriches and crocodiles, still had their parents looking after them. It would be logical that pterosaurs stayed with their young after they hatched, if only to offer them protection and guide them to food.