Fun Europejara Facts For Kids

The Europejara was the first Tapejarid among the Pterosaur from the early Cretaceous epoch found in Spain, Europe. The taxonomic classification is characterized within the order Pterodactyloidea, the suborder Azhdarchoidea, the family Tapejaridae, and the subfamily Tapejarinae. The genus Europejara with type species Europejara olcadesorum was first discovered in Las Hoyas in Spain and described by R. Vullo, J. Marugán-Lobón, W. A. Kellner, Angela Buscalioni, B. Gomez, Montserrat de la Fuente and J. Moratalla in 2012. Fossil remains comprising a partial skull and lower jaws are preserved in crushed form on a slab. 

If the uniqueness of the Europejara makes you interested in reading more about similar species, you can read about the Haopterus and the Navajodactylus.

Was the Europejara a dinosaur?

No, a Europejara (prehistoric wildlife creature) was a Tapejarid species of Pterosaur. The Pterosaur was characterized as one of the flying reptiles known to have membranous wings. It belonged to the family Tapejaridae and the subfamily Tapejarinae.

How do you pronounce 'Europejara'? 

Europejara is pronounced as 'yu-rope-har-rah'. The Tapejarid Pterosaur was named by R. Vullo, J. Marugán-Lobón, W. A. Kellner, Angela Buscalioni, B. Gomez, Montserrat de la Fuente and J. Moratalla in 2012. The generic name was derived from the continent name, Europe, and genus, Tapejara, one of the Tapejarid Pterosaurs, which was considered one of its close relatives.

What type of prehistoric flying bird was a Europejara? 

The Europejara was one of the Tapejarid Pterosaurs flying around 112 million years ago during the lower Cretaceous epoch in Spain. Unlike Pterosaurs, Tapejarids were a group of toothless Pterosaurs bearing semicircular crests around their lower jaws from the chin. With toothless upper and lower jaws bearing crests, they primarily fed upon seeds, fruits, and flowering plants.

In which geological period did the Europejara live?

The Tapejarid Pterosaur lived during the early Cretaceous period.

When did the Europejara become extinct?

It is estimated that the Europejara, the first Tapejarid Pterosaur, lived during the early Cretaceous period but it was not known to have a specific extinction range. Though these Tapejarids did not have major threats, the Europejara became extinct due to natural disasters, habitat loss, and predators.

Where did a Europejara live? 

The Europejara pterosaur region was known to be around the continent of Europe, primarily inhabiting Spain. Fossil remains comprise a partial skull, the lower jaw, a portion of an ear and an eye, and a small part of the upper jaw. The first-known Tapejarids were unearthed from the La Huérguina formation. The skull and the lower jaw with crests are preserved in various museums in Europe.

What was a Europejara's habitat? 

Europejaras were prehistoric flying reptiles having no specified habitat. The Tapejarid Pterosaur was known to live around grasslands, forests, deserts, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, cities, and suburbs.

Who did a Europejara live with?

Results of the search for information about the Europejara suggested that these flying reptiles or Tapejarids were known to fly in the sky. There is no information specifying companions of the Europejara.

How long did a Europejara live?

While dinosaurs were known to live for 70-80 years, the Europejara living during the early Cretaceous epoch did not have an estimated life span.

How did they reproduce?

Similar to dinosaurs, the Europejara was known as one of the oviparous reptiles. 

What did a Europejara look like?

The description of the appearance of the Europejara was relatively different from the description of dinosaurs. It was known to have membranous wings. While only the partial skull, the lower jaw, a portion of an ear and an eye, and a small part of the upper jaw were uncovered from the La Huérguina formation in 2012, it was suggested to have feathers on a scaly body. It had toothless upper and lower jaws with the lower jaw bearing a semicircular crest from its chin. Crests were curved from the back. Crests were deep around their bases, with the depth estimated to be four times that of its lower jaws. The inner bone of its crest was spongy and the crest was relative to the length of the lower jaw. Nt much is known about the head of these Tapejarids due to the crushed Europejara skull. The form of the Europejara was characterized by studying limited specimens known and discovered so far.

How many bones did a Europejara have?

There is no estimated number of bones recorded. The skull, the lower jaw, a portion of an ear and an eye, and a small part of the upper jaw are the only known fossil specimens of the Europejara discovered in 2012.

How did they communicate?

Unlike dinosaurs, the communication mechanism of the Europejara is not characterized or studied so far.

How big was a Europejara? 

The roughly estimated length of the Europejara ranged from 12-14 in (30-35 cm).

How fast could a Europejara move?

The Europejara is characterized as one of the flying prehistoric creatures known to have a considerable flying speed.

How much did a Europejara weigh?

There is very limited information recorded about the Europejara due to missing specimens and the crushing of its skull. Thus, the weight of the Europejara is unknown.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names of the species.

What would you call a baby Europejara?

A baby Europejara was often called a chick or a hatchling.

What did they eat? 

It had toothless lower and upper jaws, and the lower jaw had a large semicircular crest on its chin and snout. Crests were deeper at the base and back edges of crests were recurved. Thus, it was characterized as an herbivore animal primarily feeding upon seeds, fruits, and flowering plants. 

How aggressive were they?

These prehistoric creatures discovered in 2012 did not portray an aggressive temperament.

Did you know...

It had toothless lower and upper jaws with crests on its chin and snout. While the diet of the prehistoric creature remains questionable, it was primarily considered a frugivore, a fruit-eater.

What environment did the Europejara live in?

There is limited information recorded about the Europejara olcadesorum due to missing specimens and the crushing of the skull and its fragments. It most likely flew in the air and had a wide range of habitats comprising grasslands, forests, deserts, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, cities, and suburbs.

What was the wingspan of the Europejara?

The roughly estimated wingspan was up to 6.6 ft (2 m).

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly prehistoric animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Confuciusornis facts and Thalassomedon facts for kids. 

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Europejara coloring pages.

Main/Hero image- Model created by Susanne Henßen, Darmstadt, Germany. Foto: H. Zell

Second image- Ghedoghedo

*We've been unable to source an image of a Europejara and have used an image of a Tupandactylus imperator instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a Europejara, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].