In the early 2000s, Kenneth Jenkins of Ellis, Kansas collected two specimens of Nyctosaurus, which were the first to demonstrate conclusively that not only was this species crested, but that the crest in mature specimens was very large and elaborate.
Kenneth Jenkins je tokom ranih 2000-ih prikupio dva primjerka Nyctosaurusa, koji su bili prvi kod kojih se definitivno moglo vidjeti ne samo da je ta vrsta imala krestu, već i da je ona kod odraslih primjeraka bila veoma velika i složena.