Kepodactylus was a species of pterosaur which lived in western North America during the late Jurassic Period 150 million years ago.
In 1992, a nearly-complete Stegosaurus skeleton was discovered in Garden Park, Colorado within the rocks of the Morrison Formation. Alongside this skeleton were a handful of smaller fossilized bones belonging to a pterosaur, consisting of a single neck vertebra, one humerus, a few finger bones, and one metatarsal. In 1996, the creature was officially designated as a new species, which was named Kepodactylus insperatus. The name Kepodactylus means “garden finger”, named after Garden Park where it was discovered. The species name insperatus is Latin for “unexpected”.
Due to the fragmentary nature of the remains, reconstructing what the whole animal looked like is difficult. The shape of the bones indicates that Kepodactylus belonged to a group of pterosaurs called the “ctenochasmatids”. These are known mostly from Europe and Asia in rocks dating to the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous Periods, and are distinctive for possessing mouths festooned with dozens or even hundreds of small needle-like teeth – perfect for grabbing small slippery fish. Several species of small fish inhabited the Morrison Formation, including the minnow-sized Hulettia and the hand-sized Morrolepis. Based upon the size of the bones which were recovered and comparing them to the bones of other ctenochasmatid pterosaurs, Kepodactylus is estimated to have had an 8 foot wingspan.
Kepodactylus wasn’t the only fish-eating specialist which inhabited the Morrison Formation. The similarly-sized rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur Harpactognathus also dwelt within western North America during the late Jurassic Period. There might have been competition between the two, but it’s possible that Kepodactylus fed almost exclusively on small fish while Harpactognathus, which had larger teeth which were more spaced apart from each other, preferred to eat larger prey.
There might be another ctenochasmatid pterosaur within the Morrison Formation. In 2002, Utahdactylus kateae was named based upon fragmentary remains found in Utah. Originally identified as a rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur, it was later re-classified in 2018 as a possible ctenochasmatid. Utahdactylus might be a junior synonym of Kepodactylus, but until more remains can be found belonging to both genera and compared to each other, we can’t be sure.
Below is an illustration of what Kepodactylus might have looked like. A lot of this illustration is guesswork, especially the small crest on the top of its head. However, since several ctenochasmatid pterosaurs possessed head crests, the presence of one here is plausible.
Kepodactylus insperatus. © Jason R. Abdale (August 3, 2023).
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Categories: Paleontology, Uncategorized
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 
I love the contrast of the blue crest against the yellow body. I always find reconstructions of incomplete fossils interesting. For one, it gives us something to imagine as an animal in an ecosystem. Then later as more fossils are found, and it is better understood, we can then make comparisons and see how our understanding of the animal has changed. 🙂