Re: Smallest flying vertebrate?

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> In reconstructing the pterosaur,
> Normannognathus wellnhoferi, I became convinced it probably was not the
> smallest pterosaur, as some claim, since it probably was at least a third
> larger than Pterodactylus elegans (wingspan of 25 cm).

*P. elegans* and *P. kochi* are juveniles of *P. antiquus* (the type
species), which itself is AFAIK a juvenile of *P. longicollum* -- the latter
is quite big. Maybe *Normannognathus* was the smallest known adult
pterosaur, I don't know. What about *Anurognathus*?

> I've read statements claiming that the smallest known
> flying vertebrate is a pterosaur, but I can't find a reference to the
> specimen(s) behind that claim.

Adrian J. Desmond's book The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs from 1975 mentions an
AFAIK sparrow-sized *Ptenodracon*. This is yet another *Pterodactylus* baby,
probably long referred to *P. elegans*.