Abstract The history and scientific significance of three Late Jurassic pterosaur specimens housed in different Hungarian palaeontological collections are described. One of these is the holotype of Pterodactylus micronyx Meyer 1856 that was thought to be lost, but with its rediscovery in the 1980s the ‘Pester Exemplar’ becomes the name-bearing type again. The second specimen is an articulated, partially three-dimensional skeleton of a Rhamphorhynchus muensteri ; and the third is an articulated right hindlimb of a Pterodactylus sp. – both donated by Andor Semsey to the Hungarian Geological Institute. The anatomical revision of the holotype of P. micronyx indicated the osteological immaturity of the specimen; however, there is insufficient data on this taxon to assess its taxonomic validity.