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Story: Fossils

Dinosaur and pterosaur fossils

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Dinosaur and pterosaur fossils

These diagrams show the skeletons of two types of dinosaur (ornithopod and theropod) and a pterosaur (flying reptile), and where fossil bone fragments fit into their reconstructed skeletons. The lower two examples are from Mangahouanga Stream, inland Hawke’s Bay, where New Zealand’s first dinosaur and pterosaur bones were unearthed.

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GNS Science

by Alastair McLean

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How to cite this page

Hamish Campbell, Fossils – Terrestrial fossils, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9038/dinosaur-and-pterosaur-fossils (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Hamish Campbell, published 2 March 2009.