Caelestiventus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Caelestiventus |
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| 3D printed skull reconstruction; the dip in the forehead is perhaps too pronounced | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Family: | †Dimorphodontidae |
| Genus: | †Caelestiventus Britt et al., 2018 |
| Type species | |
| †Caelestiventus hanseni Britt et al., 2018
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Caelestiventus was an amazing ancient flying reptile. It lived a very long time ago, during the Triassic period. Scientists call these flying reptiles pterosaurs. Caelestiventus is special because it's the oldest known pterosaur that lived in a desert!
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Meet Caelestiventus: The Ancient Desert Flyer
Caelestiventus was an early type of pterosaur. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs. They were the first vertebrates (animals with backbones) to evolve powered flight. Caelestiventus lived around 208 million years ago. This was during the Norian age of the Late Triassic period.
What Makes Caelestiventus Special?
This ancient flyer is very important to scientists. It is 65 million years older than any other known pterosaur that lived in a desert environment. This discovery helps us understand how diverse early pterosaurs were. It shows that even the very first pterosaurs had many different body shapes. They also lived in many different kinds of places, like deserts.
The group of pterosaurs that Caelestiventus belonged to is called Dimorphodontidae. This group first appeared during the Triassic period. Finding Caelestiventus helps scientists learn more about how these amazing flying reptiles evolved and spread across the ancient world.
Images for kids
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This picture shows what scientists think Caelestiventus might have looked like when it was alive.
See also
In Spanish: Caelestiventus para niños
