Lasuénʹs pterodactyl: An early use of a pterosaur in plastic arts

Among the sculptures adorning the former building of the Faculties of Medicine and Sciences (1893) in Saragossa (Spain) is one that represents a pterosaur. It is a work by D. Lasuén based on one of the first, but little known, restorations of these animals, drawn and engraved by T. Susemihl more than half a century before. Although it seems out of place, this sculpture was simply seen as a symbol of zoology. We suggest that it may have several significations. Besides embodying the animal kingdom, it may have been a surrogate of the dragon and thus a reference to the House of Aragon through its dragon-slaying holy patron, Saint George.