''Previous theories suggested that giant pterosaurs were too big and heavy to perform either of these manoeuvres and therefore they would have remained on the ground. The researchers examined every possible anatomical aspect of the prehistoric flying reptiles, which died out 65 million years ago along with the dinosaurs. Based on the largest vertebra yet found of this species, adults may have possessed wingspans of roughly 10 meters (33 feet).
Dr Witton said: ''Pterosaurs had incredibly strong skeletons, for their weight, they're probably amongst the strongest ever evolved. Dr Witton said: ''The size of the flight muscles in a giant pterosaur would be incredible: they alone would be up to 50kg (110lbs) and account for 20% of the animal's total mass providing tremendous power and lift.'' (David Maas) They concluded that not only could pterosaurs fly, they could do so extremely well and could have travelled huge distances and even crossed continents. These new findings reveal that azhdarchids in what is now North America were potentially less homogenous and more diverse than previously suggested.Hone and his colleagues plan to investigate the internal structure of this pterosaur's humerus, corresponding to the human upper arm bone, to see where the bone was strongest, which should in turn yield insights on how the reptile flew, walked, took flight and landed, Hone said.The scientists detailed their findings Sept. 10 in the Authorized news sources may reproduce our content.
"They would have eaten any small animals they could -- baby dinosaurs, mammals, lizards, and so on -- and may have scavenged too." They found that the reptiles took off by using the powerful muscles of their legs and arms to push off from the ground, effectively pole-vaulting over their wings. It is a member of the family Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks. Using fossilised remains they estimated size and weight and calculated bone strength and mechanics and potential ''flap gliding'' performance. Dr Witton said: ''Most birds take off either by running to pick up speed and jumping into the air before flapping wildly, or if they're small enough, they may simply launch themselves into the air from a standstill. 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. What was as tall as a giraffe, weighed a scant 550 pounds, and could fly? Previous theories have asserted that giant pterosaurs could have been six metres tall with a wingspan of up to 12 metres but the researchers argue that five metres high with a 10 meter wingspan would have been more realistic. Their research, published today in the international Public Library of Science journal, PLoS ONE, follows claims that pterosaurs were too heavy to take off like birds. The pterosaur would have been similar to a giraffe in size and proportions, with long legs and a long neck, as shown in this illustration. ''These creatures were not birds, they were flying reptiles with a distinctly different skeletal structure, wing proportions and muscle mass. ''They would have achieved flight in a completely different way to birds and would have had a lower angle of take off and initial flight trajectory. Although these fossils were unearthed in desolate badlands, the area had a climate similar to the Mediterranean back when Despite their likely capacity to cross oceanic distances in flight, "we think generally these were animals that lived more inland," Hone said.
Dinosaur the size of a giraffe could fly across continents A dinosaur the size of a giraffe was capable of launching itself into the air and flying for thousands of miles, scientists have discovered. Inside Science is an editorially independent news service of the American Institute of Physics ''As pterosaurs became larger, they reinforced their wings and expanded their flight muscles to ensure they could keep flying.'' (Inside Science) -- A new species of giant pterosaur has been discovered in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada, whose snowy, windy winters gave Cryodrakon its name. Dr Mark Witton, a palaeontologist from the University of Portsmouth and Dr Michael Habib from Chatham University USA, have studied how the giant pterosaur, which was as big as a giraffe, could get off the ground. Dr Habib added: ''Scientists have struggled for decades to figure out how giant pterosaurs could become airborne and some recent proposals have simply assumed it must have been impossible. Once airborne they could fly huge distances and even cross continents, the scientists claim. ''By using their arms as the main engines for launching instead of their legs, they use the flight muscles, the strongest in their bodies, to take off and that gives them potential to launch much greater weight into the air.
Scientists only know azhdarchids from limited, fragmentary remains, which has made it difficult to understand their biology and evolution. Quetzalcoatlus northropi /kɛtsəlkoʊˈætləs, kwɛ-/ is a pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America (Maastrichtian stage) and one of the biggest known flying animals of all time. It lived about 77 million years ago. ''This may explain how pterosaurs became so much larger than any other flying animals known.''
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