Atlantis Online
March 29, 2024, 11:02:06 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Underwater caves off Yucatan yield three old skeletons—remains date to 11,000 B.C.
http://www.edgarcayce.org/am/11,000b.c.yucata.html
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links Staff List Calendar Login Register  

Pterosaur 'Runways' Enabled Huge Prehistoric Flying Animal To Get Airborne

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Pterosaur 'Runways' Enabled Huge Prehistoric Flying Animal To Get Airborne  (Read 186 times)
0 Members and 51 Guests are viewing this topic.
Melody Stacker
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4550



« on: November 11, 2012, 11:39:28 pm »

Pterosaur 'Runways' Enabled Huge Prehistoric Flying Animal To Get Airborne, Study Suggests

Posted: 11/09/2012 8:12 am EST Updated: 11/09/2012 8:12 am EST



Pterosaurs
Life restoration of a group of giant azhdarchids, Quetzalcoatlus northropi, foraging on a Cretaceous fern prairie. A juvenile titanosaur has been caught by one pterosaur, while the others stalk through the scrub in search of small vertebrates and other food.

By: Douglas Main, LiveScience Contributor
Published: 11/08/2012 03:01 PM EST on LiveScience

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's a bird … It's a plane … It's a plane-size bird! If humans had lived 67 million years ago in what is now Texas, they would've had a hard time missing the giant flying pterosaur called Quetzalcoatlus, which was the size of an F-16 fighter jet.  The biggest animal ever to fly in the history of the world, this pterosaur dominated the sky with its 34-foot (10 meters) wingspan.

Fossils of the creature have been found in Big Bend National Park, in an area that was heavily forested in the late Cretaceous.   But this presents a puzzle: How did it fly? The region lacked the cliffs that make flight for such large birds easy to conceive. 

A new computer simulation has the answer: These beasts used downward-sloping areas, at the edges of lakes and river valleys, as prehistoric runways to gather enough speed and power to take off, according to a study presented Wednesday (Nov. 7) here at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Taking off

First the animal would start running on all fours, Texas Tech University scientist Sankar Chatterjee, a co-author of the study, told LiveScience. Then it would shift to its back legs, unfurl its wings and begin flapping. Once it generated enough power and speed, it finally would hop and take to the air, said Chatterjee, who along with his colleagues created a video simulation of this pterosaur taking flight.

pterosaursPterosaurs ranged in size from Quetzalcoatlus, which was as tall as a giraffe, to Anurognathus, an insect-eater the size of a small bird seen to the left of Quetzalcoatlus.

"This would be very awkward-looking," he said. "They'd have to run but also need a downslope, a technique used today by hang gliders. Once in the air, though, they were magnificent gliders."

Chatterjee's past research revealed the likely flight trick of another hefty prehistoric aviator, Argentavis magnificens: It relied on updrafts to help lift it into the air.

Chatterjee said the flight and landing of Quetzalcoatlus probably looked like that of an albatross or the Kori bustard, the heaviest modern-day bird capable of flight.[Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly]

The pterosaur likely weighed about 155 pounds (70 kilograms), which is near the maximum that an animal could weigh and still fly, he said. Other scientists have estimated it weighed more, but from a biophysical perspective, that would be simply impossible, he said.

Landing was an ordeal for this creature, involving a lot of flapping, followed by a touchdown with the hind legs, leading to a four-legged run.

 Quetzalcoatlus had very light, air-filled bones — which were strong for their weight — but its wings were relatively fragile. "It was a marvel of engineering," he said.

These pterosaurs likely fed on fish or scavenged dead animals, like modern-day buzzards. When standing, they were about as tall as modern-day giraffes, Chatterjee said. They were named after Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god.

Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook& Google+.

    Image Gallery: Drawing Dinosaurs
    Dinosaur Detective: Find Out What You Really Know
    Image Gallery: Dinosaur Daycare

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Report Spam   Logged

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Melody Stacker
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4550



« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2012, 11:40:34 pm »



Pterosaurs ranged in size from Quetzalcoatlus, which was as tall as a giraffe, to Anurognathus, an insect-eater the size of a small bird seen to the left of Quetzalcoatlus.
Report Spam   Logged
Melody Stacker
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4550



« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2012, 11:42:07 pm »



Report Spam   Logged
Melody Stacker
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4550



« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2012, 11:42:37 pm »

Quetzcoatlyus's ancestors were smaller pterosaurs that could fly just fine. Their first ancestor that could sustain flight was probably about the size of a song bird. It evolved from something that used its wings for gliding. A gliding surface on a small animal does not need to be very large to prevent death deaths. The original gliding surface of pterosaur ancestors was probably webbing between the toes of a reptile that lived in the trees trees. A little webbing can provide enough lift and directional control to save lives. If you've got a few million years, you don't need a huge percentage of saves to change the genetic makeup of a species.

Flight has evolved in at least four different ways and gliding has evolved dozens of times. Half a wing IS useful. In each case it was differently useful. In birds it was a jump extender. In pterosaurs and bats it was a gliding aid.

Eyes have evolved half a dozen times. And yes, a half evolved eye is useful and functional. A 0.01% evolved eye is useful and functional.
Report Spam   Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum
Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy