Pter`o*sau"ri*a (?), n. pl. [NL.] Paleon.
An extinct order of flying reptiles of the Mesozoic age; the pterodactyls; -- called also Pterodactyli, and Ornithosauria.
⇒ The wings were formed, like those of bats, by a leathery expansion of the skin, principally supported by the greatly enlarged outer or " little" fingers of the hands. The American Cretaceous pterodactyls had no teeth. See Pteranodontia, and Pterodactyl.
© Webster 1913.