Home
Tricky take-offs may have limited pterodactyl size
Washington Post November 6, 2014
Pterosaurs had wingspans of up to 35 feet, and the largest of them may have weighed a quarter of a ton. That's a good 10 feet larger across than the largest known flying bird to have ever lived. Those massive birds couldn't even fly by flapping their wings — their bodies were so heavy they had to glide. Some researchers have argued that the largest Pterosaurs must have used similar hang-glider-like tricks, or not flown at all. But now we know that pterosaurs simply flew differently than birds do. Instead of running and flapping their wings, the pterosaurs used all four limbs to launch themselves up into the air.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spea ... ctyl-size/
Anhanguera santanae in the vault phase of a quadrupedal launch, just after the hindlimbs have pushed and before the forelimbs unload, which will provide most of the takeoff power. Image by Julia Molnar
Life in the air by Mike Habib
http://pterosaur.net/flight.php
