The genus name is Latin for "filth" or "scum"; but Sharov translates it as "nechist", which means "devil" or "evil spirit", so the intended translation is "hairy devil"[2] (the specific name is Latin for "hairy"; despite sordes being feminine, it has not yet been emended to pilosa[original research?]).

Likely contenders are invertebrates with tougher exoskeletons, or amphibians that were slippery to catch and then required some crunching before they could be swallowed.

[citation needed] The fossil shows remains of the soft parts, such as membranes and hair-like filaments.

This was the first unequivocal proof that pterosaurs had a layer of hair-like filaments covering their bodies, later named pycnofibres.

The pycnofibres are present in two main types: longer at the extreme part of the wing membrane and shorter near the body.

Other researchers however, such as Alexander Kellner and Lü Junchang, have produced cladistic analyses showing that Sordes was much more basal, and not a rhamphorhynchid.