Pterodactylus arningi Reck, 1931

Pterodactylus arningi Reck, 1931

The genus name of this small flying reptile derives from the Greek πτεροδάΚτυλος / pterodáktulos and means “winged finger.” The name alludes to the fact that the animal’s wing membrane stretched over its highly elongated fourth fingers to its hind limbs. According to paleontologists David Unwin and Oliver Rauhut, the type specimen—a single finger bone—cannot be assigned to any specific taxon within Pterosauria and must be considered a nomen dubium, a questionable name. 96

The specific name is dedicated to Wilhelm Arning, a German doctor, colonial politician and travel writer. After completing his medical studies, Arning served for four years (1892–1896) as a doctor with the colonial army of German East Africa (Kaiserliche Schutztruppe). He subsequently practiced as an ophthalmologist in Göttingen and Hanover. In 1903, Arning co-founded the Lindi Prospecting Company (Lindi-Schürfgesellschaft m.b.H., initially headquartered in Koblenz and later in Berlin) and was appointed one of its two managing directors. On January 16, 1904, the company received a five-year concession from the Imperial Chancellery to prospect for minerals in southern German East Africa. 97 In April of the same year, Arning led a geological expedition to search for mineral deposits in the hinterlands of Lindi (located in the south of the colony). 98 In January 1907, Arning ran on the National Liberal Party ticket in the German national elections. These were dubbed the “Hottentot elections,” as they had been called during a political crisis concerning colonial wars in German South West Africa and German East Africa. Arning won the seat and remained in the Reichstag until 1912. He was also a member of the Prussian Landtag from 1908 to 1918. 99