James Brody
January 7th, 2009, 07:39 PM
"Four, Three, Two, One . . . Pterosaurs Have Lift Off
"ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2009) — Pterosaurs have long suffered an identity crisis. Pop culture heedlessly — and wrongly — lumps these extinct flying lizards in with dinosaurs. Even paleontologists assumed that because the creatures flew, they were birdlike in many ways, such as using only two legs to take flight.
"Now comes what is believed to be first-time evidence that launching some 500 pounds of reptilian heft into flight required pterosaurs to use four limbs: two were ultra-strong wings which, when folded and balanced on a knuckle, served as front "legs" that helped the creature to walk — and leap."
More at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090106161514.htm
"ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2009) — Pterosaurs have long suffered an identity crisis. Pop culture heedlessly — and wrongly — lumps these extinct flying lizards in with dinosaurs. Even paleontologists assumed that because the creatures flew, they were birdlike in many ways, such as using only two legs to take flight.
"Now comes what is believed to be first-time evidence that launching some 500 pounds of reptilian heft into flight required pterosaurs to use four limbs: two were ultra-strong wings which, when folded and balanced on a knuckle, served as front "legs" that helped the creature to walk — and leap."
More at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090106161514.htm