Tupandactylus (meaning "Tupan finger", in reference to the
Tupi thunder god) is a
genus of
tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the
Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of
Brazil. It is notable for its large cranial crest, composed partly of bone and partly of soft tissue. The
Tupandactylus genus possibly contains two species, both bearing differently sized/shaped crests that may have been used to signal and display for other
Tupandactylus, much as
toucans use their bright bills to signal to one another.
Tupandactylus crests consisted of a semicircular crest over the snout, and in the case of the
type species T. imperator, a bony prong which extended back behind the head. A second species,
T. navigans, lacked this prong, and had a much more vertical crest. Soft tissue impressions also show that the small bony crests were extended by a much larger structure made of a keratinous material. The complete crest of
T. navigans rose in a sharp, sail-like "dome" high above the rest of the skull.
