Fossil of Pterodactylus, a genus of the Pterosaurus order, the image under view representing the counterparts of one and the same specimen left on the surfaces of slabs of slate that were split apart. There is only one species, P. antiquus (= P. spectabilis). It was first found and described in 1784, and in the early 1800's identified as a flying reptile, the first to be recognized as such. Its wings consisted of skin and muscle membranes attached to and stretched between its fingers and hind limbs. The fossil here shown measures 45 cm in height and is of a juvenile specimen from Jurassic beds in Germany, the Solnhofen limestones of Bavaria, which are, with a few exceptions, the principal locality of finds.