A pterodactyl was a flying reptile that lived on the planet Earth millions of years ago. It coexisted with dinosaurs.
In 2269, an away team from the Constitution-class starship Enterprise encountered artificial physical manifestations of a group of pterodactyls on the Amusement Park planet. They were the first indication that the planet's computer was malfunctioning and creating simulations which it was not meant to. (TAS: "Once Upon a Planet")