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Pterosaurs Flying Contemporaries of The Dinosaur-Andre J Veldmeijer Mark Witton Ilja Nieuwland PDF

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Pterosaurs Flying Contemporaries of The Dinosaur-Andre J Veldmeijer Mark Witton Ilja Nieuwland PDF

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And ré J.

Vel d m ei jer
M ar k W i tto n
& I l ja N i eu wl and

PTEROSAURS
Sidestone

F LYI NG CONT E MPOR A RI E S OF T HE DI NOS AURS

PTEROSAURS

Sidestone Press
PTEROSAURS
F LY IN G CON TEMPOR AR IES OF TH E DIN OSAU R S

An d r é J. Ve l d m e i je r
M ar k W i t ton
& I l ja N i e uw l an d
© 2012 A.J. Veldmeijer / M. Witton / I. Nieuwland

Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden

www.sidestone.com
Sidestone registration number: SSP67280005

ISBN 978-90-8890-093-8

Cover design: K. Wentink, Sidestone Press

Lay-out: P.C. van Woerdekom, Sidestone Press / A.J. Veldmeijer

Cover illustration: Mark Witton (UK), Corey Ford (USA), en Yuri Arcurs (Denmark)
Contents

PREFACE 9
Acknowledgement 9

INTRODUCTION 11
What are fossils? 13
What is palaeontology? 16
A short history of our relationship with an extraordinary animal 27

PTEROSAURS: A SHORT INTRODUCTION 37

When did pterosaurs live? 37
Triassic 37
Jurassic 38
Cretaceous 39

EXTINCTION 40
Where did pterosaurs live? 40
The Solnhofen Limestones: the rocks that gave us pterosaurs 46
Where Pterandon roams: the Niobrara Formation 49
Giving pterosaurs more depth: the Araripe Group lagerstätte 51
The ancient lake deposits of Liaoning Province 54
Evolution 55

THE SKELETON 59
The skull 60
The post-cranial skeleton 69
Spine 69
Shoulder girdle 70
Pelvis 74
Hind legs 75
Wing 76

SOFT PARTS 85
Muscles 85
Brains 85

LOCOMOTION 89
Terrestrial 89
Flying 89
DIVERSITY 90

LIFESTYLE 91
Reproduction 91
Food 91
…and becoming food 98
Sick and cured 102

THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELS 107

Introduction 107
Erwin Meerman 107
The English models 110
The concept 111
Realising the concept 112
Postures 113
Turning engineers into palaeo-artists 116
Flesh on bone 117
Wings 118
Detailing 119
Colour 120
‘Dinner’ and other embellishments 122
The heads 122
Moving it all about 123
The finished product 124

LIST OF FIGURES 127

NAMES OF THE ANIMALS 131

Figure 2. he oldest fossils of

pterosaurs are from the Late
Early

Triassic, but their evolution-

ary origin is still further back 199.5
in time. Pterosaurs became
extinct, together with many
Late

other groups of animals such

as the dinosaurs, at the end
of the Cretaceous. Below is an
Middle

overview of the most impor-

tant vertebrates that roamed
the earth as contemporaries of
251
the pterosaurs.
Early

11
mammals

cynodonts

diconodonts birds

theropods

sauropods

ornithischia

crocodiles

pterosaurs

plesiosaurs

ichthyosaurs

lizards, snakes

tortoises

frogs

salamanders

ray-inned ish

sharks, rays

251 199.6 145.5 65.5 0

Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleocene Eocene

Paleozoic Mesozoic Kenozoic

12
What are fossils?
Fossilisation is usually simply the replacing or rebuilding of biological parts by
minerals (the same building materials that make stone). Thus, palaeontologists do
not study real bone. But there are also some fossils, which are produced without
replacement by minerals: insects trapped in amber are a good example.
Fossilisation is a very rare process. This is perhaps difficult to understand if you
think of all the fossils that are housed in the many museums all over the world. But
if you realise that there have been billions and billions of organisms, than perhaps
it is a bit easier to understand how rare and unique fossils are.
A prerequisite for fossilisation is burial in a layer of sediment that protects the
cadaver from rotting or scavenging. The hard parts of an organism, such as bones
and teeth, have the greatest chance of becoming fossilised. The soft parts such as
the flight membranes and the intestines are only preserved under exceptional con-
ditions and are therefore even more rare than other fossils. There are fossils of ptero-
saurs that are so well-preserved that one can study the skin (see figures 63 and 71)
and some have a partially intact body covering (a sort of hair). There are even sev-
eral examples of stomach contents from pterosaurs (see figure 74). Moreover, there
are quite a few imprints of the animals, such as the tracks (figure 3) or impressions
of the skin. Fossilised pellets and faeces have also been found.
There are between five and six thousand fossils of pterosaurs (but more and
more are being found every day) among which are several more or less complete
skeletons. Most of the fossils we have are no more than bone fragments a few cen-

1 1
1

2
4 2
2

3 3
3

2 3 4
Figure 3. Top: A 1 1 2 3
4
Pterodactylus leaves his foot-
prints in the soft, wet sand.
5
Below: he hand and foot of
a pterosaur and the imprints 5
left by them.

13
Figure 4. Several examples of
pterosaur inds from the fa-
mous Cambridge Greensands
in England. An estimated
2000 small bones were found
10 cm here, most of which are not
more than a few centimetres
in size. Fossils from this place
timetres long (figure 4). Moreover, skeletons are often incomplete or jumbled; the were described as early as the
head, for example, being relatively heavy compared to the body, is easily broken off mid-19th century, but they
after decay of the soft tissue (figure 5). remain the subject of heated
Palaeontologists distinguish two types of pterosaur fossils. Most sites (you can scientiic taxonomic debates to
this day.
read more about the most important sites in ‘Where did pterosaurs live?’), among
which Solnhofen in Germany (figure 6) and the Crato Formation in Chapada
do Araripe in northeast Brazil, produce slabs (figure 7): the animals are as flat
as a coin. In the United States (Niobrara Formation, Kansas) fossils are found,
mainly of Pteranodon, that are not in slabs and sometimes entirely separated from

10 cm

Figure 5. In rare cases a dead

animal is immediately cov-
ered by sediment, allowing
for undisturbed fossilisation
(see igure 6). More often the
skeleton is severely disturbed
by scavenging or because the
carcass has been transported
by water. Here you see two
examples. Both lack the skull
because it is much more prone
to becoming detached.
10 cm

14
the matrix but are equally flat nonetheless (figure 8). Especially from the Santana
Formation, also in Chapado do Araripe in northeast Brazil, are fossils that are pre-
served in three dimensions: minerals are deposited around the bones after which
there is exchange of the biological elements and minerals (figure 9).

1 cm

2 cm

Figure 6. Two examples of

Solnhofen plate fossils, which
clearly show how superbly
preserved the animals are.
Left a baby-Pterodactylus
kochi and right a fully-grown
animal of the same species,
including a detail of the skull.
Sometimes, even the soft parts
of pterosaurs, such as their
skin, is preserved, which is
clearly visible in the adult
animal. Both fossils come
from the Jurassic.

15
What is palaeontology?
Palaeontology is the study of fossil remains of plants and animals, divided in sev-
eral sub-disciplines. Often people think that archaeology and palaeontology are
the same, but this is not true: archaeology is the science that studies past human
activity. An overlap, therefore, might occur with early humans of which the fossil

16
Figure 7. Two examples of
plate fossils from the Crato
Formation of Chapada do
Araripe, northeast Brazil.
Both skulls are of tooth-
less Cretaceous pterosaurs:
Lacusovagus magniicens
(previous page and top right)
and Tupandactylus navigans
(centre). he black arrow 10 cm
indicates the crest that largely
consists of skin. he white ar-
row indictates the part from
which the detail is taken.
Clearly visible are the bun-
dles of fossilised tissues at the
edge of the bone, which is an
extension of the bones of the
skull.

10 cm
2 cm

c Figure 8. Example of
a fossil from the Niobrara
Formation, Kansas (United
States). his skeleton is put
together from real bones but
from diferent animals. hus,
it is not found as it is de-
picted. See also ‘Mark Witton
explains: Pteranodon’, pp.
92-95.

17
Figure 9. he Santana
Formation of Chapada do
Araripe, northeast Brazil pro-
duces limestone nodules (top
left); the bones are preserved
within these lumps of stone.
Preliminary research with
X-rays approximately shows
which bones are present (top
right). Splitting the nodules
shows where the fossils are
located (bottom).

10 cm

18
Mark explains too low. But the strangest things happened with
Dimorphodon. It turned out that its weight had
been estimated as being twice as large as was usu-
Dimorphodon al for an animal with such a wingspan (a little
more than one metre). Recalculations produced
the same result. In other words, Dimorphodon
is truly much heavier than it ought to be! I am
not the first person to discover this. There is at
least one other study that produced an atypical
weight.
So, why is Dimorphodon so plump? The an-
swer is simple: everything about this pterosaur is
out of proportion, but the most striking fact is
that its head is gigantic in relation to its wing-
span. In addition, the hind legs and torso are
much larger than you would expect in a ptero-
saur of this calibre. As is also the case with chub-
by people: it’s not fat, it’s those heavy bones …
You know the story … an object has been exam- This, in itself, is not actually a major problem,
ined time after time and everyone believes that but if you calculate the consequences for flying it
its structure is obvious. It is forgotten about, and does become much more interesting. A detailed
subsequently lies on the shelf gathering dust. analysis of the shape of the wings of Dimorphodon
Now and again someone with a new idea comes suggests that its flight differed substantially from
along to have a look, only to allow the object to that of other pterosaurs. In fact, it seems that it
sink back into oblivion. That was also more or only took to the skies with great reluctance!
less the case with the drawing of Dimorphodon. Isn’t that strange … a flying reptile that flies
More than a year after that drawing had seen the as little as possible? Nevertheless, it is quite logi-
light of day, the end product finally arose. cal if my reconstructed wing shape is correct.
Dimorphodon… the first fossil was found as In my view, Dimorphodon had broad but short
far back as 1828 by the renowned English fos- wings. In itself, this is not so unusual, as many
sil collector Mary Anning. Fossil remains of this pterosaurs had the same. But the deviant weight
animal were also described by William Buckland means that its wingload (the weight divided by
(1829) and Richard Owen (1858). Several new the surface area of the wings) was much greater
finds have been described since then. In addition, than normal. Therefore the beast had to work
Dimorphodon has played an important role in the much harder to triumph over gravity. Moreover,
discussion in the way in which pterosaurs moved its ability to soar and glide was poor due to the
about on land. This discussion was primarily con- ratio between its weight and its size. As a conse-
ducted by two prominent palaeontologists: Kevin quence it was forced to flap its wings more fre-
Padian and Peter Wellnhofer. So we now know quently, which demanded much more energy
all the secrets of this primal animal, you might than was the case with a similarly-sized pterosaur
think. Or maybe not … such as Rhamphorhynchus.
I have spent a good deal of time investigat- Our modern birds also include sorts that
ing the weight of flying reptiles. A new method are much too heavy for their wingspan: turkeys,
indicated that previous estimates had been much pheasants and rails, to name but a few. They can

19
20
fly but only do so in short flights when they have Of course, this kind of theory on the ecology
to cover a larger distance in a short time or when of Dimorphodon leads to discussion. Many ptero-
they are attempting to escape from a predator. saur scholars prefer to regard the beast as a fish or
Just as Dimorphodon probably was, these squid-eater. Some of them even go as far as to as-
birds are good at taking off quickly – occasionally cribe puffin colours (including the jaws, as well as
even vertically – but they are not capable of flying a row of newly caught snacks) to the prehistoric
long distances because they simply do not have animal. Well, this theory should be immediately
the capacity to do so. Accordingly, if it had to mi- forgotten, because there is nothing in the anato-
grate, Dimorphodon would be better off seeking a my of Dimorphodon (or any other pterosaur) that
lift from a passing prosauropod than undertaking indicates a fishing technique similar to that of the
the journey under its own steam. puffin.
Okay … As far as I know, this is a flying I invariably become suspicious when the
style for a pterosaur that has not previously been combination of Dimorphodon and fish is artic-
proposed! Certainly, colleagues have indeed ex- ulated. The short neck, the large, coarse skull
pressed doubt about the flying capabilities of and strongly varying teeth would seem to be a
some pterosaurs, but you should see that in the disadvantage when compared to the features of
context of the old idea that flying reptiles were ‘traditional’ fish-eaters with their longer necks,
clumsy, squawking, archaic gliders that had to de- slender jaws and teeth that match in form and
pend upon high, steep cliffs and a strong wind to dovetail together (as shown in figure 40, for ex-
give them lift. What I propose here is completely ample). Moreover, the idea of fishing ignores the
different: Dimorphodon as a small, active fusspot, development of Dimorphodon’s limbs. Its strong
frantically flapping its wings, with all the nervous limbs, well-developed hands and feet, with long
energy that you can imagine for a warm-blooded and deep but narrow claws, are advanced features
creature with a rich coat or fleece, but one unable that are important for climbing. The extended
to fly long distances without completely exhaust- middle phalanges indicate that Dimorphodon was
ing itself. equipped with genuine ‘crampons’ and the corre-
sponding ‘rigging’ to scramble over cliffs and rove
around in treetops. Thus, Dimorphodon appears
to have been much happier with his climbing life-
style than with any water-based one. And if its
prey fled to another tree or if it suddenly fell, the
capability for explosive flight would come in very
handy.

21
remains are found together with the objects they made and the traces they left be-
hind. But pterosaurs were already extinct for many million years before the ances-
tors of modern humans came onto the stage of evolution.
It is a long time ago that a palaeontologist only looked at fossils with a magni-
fying glass or microscope (figure 10) and comparing the bones of various animals.
This way of working is called comparative anatomy and is important to see if the
newly discovered fossil belongs to a species that we already know or if it is a new
species. And this is of importance for the reconstruction of evolution of animals,
but also to understand variation: a large variation means that there were a lot of
opportunities for animals to specialise.
There are many modern research techniques that are an important addition to
the basic palaeontological work of comparative anatomy. CT-scanning (Computer
Tomography) is similar to X-ray in that it is a radiograph. However, X-ray makes
sort of a portrait of the skull – or the unprepared fossil to see which bones there are
and where – but the CT-scan makes cross-sections of something (figure 11). The
radiation in both techniques is the same but used differently. CT-scanning is done
at regular intervals, resulting in a series of images that you can play after each other.
Another, fairly recent technique to make details of fossils more visible is to pho-
tograph them under UV light: especially the soft parts, like skin, reflect distinctly.
This technique reveals details that were not visible before.
The good thing about these techniques is that they do not change the fossil:
they are non-destructive. But there are also destructive research techniques. Several
scientists from Portsmouth University have sacrificed several teeth that they found

Figure 10. Studying fossils is

time-consuming and involves
a range of scientiic equip-
ment. Here a microscope is
seen in use.

22
in Morocco, to study the internal structure with scanning electronmicroscopy. In
order to be able to do this, they had to cut the teeth with a diamond saw, etched
them using acids and applied a microscopically thin layer of gold palladium.
The detailed study of fossils (figure 12) enables the palaeontologist to ‘rebuild’
the animal. But you need to know more than only the bones: namely the rest of the
anatomy. You can do this by comparing it with other, living relatives (as explained,
difficult for pterosaurs), or to rebuild the animal (as object or digital) and applying
muscles and ligaments etc. and see how they were attached and how they func-
tioned. But to get as detailed a picture as possible, the palaeontologists also need
to know of the environment the animals lived in, the climate, the flora, the other
animals and, which food was available.

m Figue 11. CT-scan images

in sequence of the skull of
Coloborhynchus spielbergi,
housed in the NCB Naturalis,
Leiden, he Netherlands. he
arrow indicates the brain cav-
ity; its shape is clearly visible
(see igure 72).

c Figure 12. When an

animal dies and is rapidly
covered by sediment it may
become fossilised. Millions
of years later, a palaeontolo-
gist may ind and excavate it.
After careful study the animal
can be ‘brought back to life’.

23
Mark explains you would normally have to treat with a hammer
and anvil in order to reduce it to something de-
vourable. Having the largest teeth at the back is
Dsungaripterus undoubtedly an excellent set-up to cope with this
kind of work: the biting strength here is much
greater because the distance to the jaw muscles
is much smaller. However, it is somewhat bizarre
that the teeth right at the back of the upper jaw
do not have counterparts in the lower jaw. This
provokes questions with regard to their presumed
role in the crushing of shellfish. The toothless tip
of the jaw played no role in this crushing, but it
was certainly involved in taking the prey. If you
look closely at the jaws, you will see that these
beak-like points could not be completely closed
because the lower jaw is much more rounded than
the upper jaw. This is undoubtedly an adaptation
for grabbing and holding round shellfish.
The powerful Dsungaripterus from the Early If the skull was formed like the typical ptero-
Cretaceous period in China. This animal was not saur skull, it would break into thousands of pieces
at the front of the queue when beauty was handed if Dsungaripterus were to bite a crustacean. This is
out. It had a jaw full of large, squat teeth that pro- the reason why Dsungaripterus has densified skull
truded from its curved jaws, small beady eyes and bones that are built in such a way that they can
a greatly oversized skull consisting of thick, inel- absorb the shocks that arise in the crushing proc-
egant bones. If you compare this to the slender, ess. The openings in the skull of this pterosaur
streamlined skulls of Pteranodon or Tupandactylus are very limited in size. One opening, however,
it is truly an ugly duck, but one that does not
turn into the beautiful white swan. But it does
not need beauty to be cool! With its formidable
teeth, this creature could bite through the hard-
est crustaceans. And the robustness of the rest of
its skeleton tells us that this was a real tough guy.
Dsungaripterus is an example of the victory of
functionality over beauty.
The skull of this pterosaur is rather strange
due to its diet, which almost certainly consisted
of food from the sea, such as bivalve shellfish (our
mussel is an example of a modern bivalve ma-
rine mollusc). We know this from the structure
of its set of teeth. Dsungaripterus is the only pte- Dsungaripterus weii in walking stance. his pterosaur
rosaur whose teeth increase in size as you go fur- from the Early Cretaceous of China had a wingspan
of about 3.50 metres. he skeleton is a gift from the
ther into its jaws. The teeth themselves are wide,
Stiftung Hirsch, Karlsruhe to the Staatliches Museum
flat and very robust. This is a strong indication für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe. Cast.
of a diet that consists of extremely hard food that

24
has remained rather large: the place where the jaw way of easily remaining in the air. In addition, it
muscles pass through the bone. This indicates, of had pretty robust hind legs whose shape is such
course, that these muscles must have been quite that they are well adapted to absorb the shocks
substantial, which is not surprising when your of heavy landing. It has been suggested that
diet consists of crustaceans and suchlike. Strong Dsungaripterus only made short flights, so that
jaw muscles and teeth … not a configuration you natural selection arose on the basis of good land-
would want to explore with your fingers. ing qualities after brief, powerful, active flying
But this is not all. The bone structure has a trips. This is difficult to prove, but it sounds rea-
corresponding design. The hollow bones of most sonable. There are also many bird sorts that only
pterosaurs have very thin bone walls (often less make short flights, and I see no reason why there
than one millimetre thick, see figure 66) but could not have been pterosaurs that also lived
– as you already guessed – this is not the case like this. Do not forget that Dsungaripterus had
with Dsungaripterus. This fellow has substan- wings whose shape indicates active flying rather
tially thicker bone walls (cortical bone), a feature than long-distance gliding. So they were probably
suited to an animal whose life is largely ground- more on the ground than in the air! Oh yes, I
based. Thicker bone walls suggest a heavier ani- forgot to mention it: Dsungaripterus fossils have
mal, and having more weight is not really a good only been found in terrestrial sediments...

25
FOCUS
Names

How do we know the names of all these animals? If bones are compared with
bones that already have been given a name and the palaeontologist recog-
nises enough differences, he or she can create a new name for the animal.
But there are strict rules for this procedure, written down in a thick book,
called the ‘International Code for Zoological Nomenclature’. This contains
a detailed explanation as to when a (new) fossil may get a new name. First,
the fossil must be housed in a public collection. That is important, because
the fossil on which a new species is based is the fossil to which all new
finds have to be compared (a so-called ‘holotype’). It becomes the standard.
Recognising different species is important, because it gives us insight in
the evolution of the animals, as well as in the diversity of a certain group.
Sometimes scholars are vain and bend the rules to make a new species be-
cause part of the official name of an animal is the name of the scientist, thus
linking them to it forever! The names of species are always in Greek or Latin
and, so that everybody in the scientific world can understand them. These
names are written in Italic. Often the name refers to a known part of the ani-
mals or a certain behaviour. Dimorphodon for example, means ‘two forms of
teeth’ and refers to the two types of teeth the animal had. Lacusovagus means
‘lake wanderer’ because the animal lived in a water-rich environment. Often
animals are named after people, such as the pioneer of pterosaurology Peter
Wellnhofer in Tapejara wellnhoferi, or someone that has impressed the re-
searcher, such as Steven Spielberg in Coloborhynchus spielbergi. But an animal
can also be named after the place where it was found (Anhanguera santana
after the Santana Formation in Brazil) and Brasileodactylus (after Brazil), or
after indigenous peoples (Tupuxuara longicristatus after the Brazilian Tupi
indians) or even after gods of ancient cultures (Quetzalcoatlus after the Aztec
god Quetzalcoatl). The entire name of an animal could then for example be:
Pterodaustro guinazui Bonaparte, 1970 (the year referring the year the first
description was published). See the end of this book for explanation of the
names of the animals that are mentioned.

26
A short history of our relationship with an extraordinary
animal
During the largest part of our history, those animals which we nowadays call ‘myth-
ical’ were an important part of human everyday reality. Unicorns, sphinxes, griffins
and all sorts of other animals were revered and feared. That one could not see them
did not really matter, because a large part of the world still lay unexplored and
could hide any number of these creatures. Indeed, when explorers penetrated the
interior of Africa and India, strange creatures such as elephants and giraffes turned
out to be real. When first (dead) duck-billed platypuses were shown at the Royal
Society meetings in the early years of the 19th century, they were greeted with ridi-
cule – this was a very unlikely creature indeed. But even the platypus, that strange
egg-laying mixture of duck, beaver and lizard, really crawled around somewhere on
earth. So why could not the same apply to a unicorn?
Much of the base of this myth was created by fossils, the petrified remains of
animals and plants. But the discovery of fossils also created curiosity. The Greek
historian Herodotus, writing in 500 BCE, already noticed ‘bones and spines in
innumerable quantities, heaped in mountains, large and small’ in Egypt – a pos-
sible reference to fossils. As Adrienne Mayor pointed out, fossils were commonly
identified as belonging to giants, unicorns and griffins, but also to historical figures
and (demi-) gods.
The most-feared creature remained the dragon. Dragons or dragon-like crea-
tures make an appearance in many early cultures, around the world. But nearly
everywhere, the image of the dragon is ambivalent: a symbol of darkness, but also
often one of wisdom. In Europe the ‘evil’ dragon usually prevailed, with all the
paraphernalia that went with it: black in hue, with razor-sharp teath, breathing fire
and shooting through the air in bat-like wings.
When the famous painter and sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins toured
Britain around 1860 with a lecture about ‘dragons’, he did not need to introduce
his audience to the subject. Hawkins’ fame was based on the enormous sculp-
tures of extinct animals he had erected five years earlier in the park surrounding
Crystal Palace in Sydenham near London. The sculptures showed the latest in-
sights in the lives of various dinosaurs and other ‘antediluvian’ (pre-flood) ani-
mals. Unfortunately, Hawkins had very little definite information to use for his
reconstructions, which meant they were highly speculative. But certain animals
were better known: Ichthyosaurs or ‘fish-lizards’, which had been uncovered on the
English south coast, and the ‘dragons’ which Hawkins used to begin his talk: “that
wondrous animal, the pterodactyl, a combination of fish, reptile, and bird”. In glow-
ing terms he described how he saw the pterodactyl as the original dragon, the basis
for the medieval dragon, and also the story of Perseus and Andromeda. But what
exactly was a ‘pterodactyl’? That was a question, which by this time had troubled
many a European scholar.

27
Figure 13. Fantasy sketch
of a ight with a ‘dragon’,
by Benjamin Waterhouse
Hawkins, ca. 1860.

The animal had shown itself to the modern world for the first time in 1782,
in a booklet written by the Italian monk and naturalist Cosimo Collini. Some
years earlier, in 1757, he had found a smallish fossil among the collection of the
Margrave of the Palatinate, in Marburg, Germany. It had taken him fifteen years
to realise what lay before him. Clearly, it looked nothing like anything he had seen
before, with a long beak filled with sharp teeth, and something that looked like
a very long finger. Because the collection consisted mainly of sea animals, Collini
concluded that it must have been a swimming animal, with long flippers. We might
scoff at some of these ideas nowadays, but it is important to realise how very little
these people had to go on. Dinosaurs had not been discovered yet, and zoological
method was still in its infancy.
The German doctor, inventor and naturalist Samuel von Sömmering (1755-
1830) inspected the animal as well, and rather doubted Collini’s conclusion. He
envisioned a flying animal, although he could not say how it should be classified.
It clearly was not a bird, and it looked nothing like a mammal. He therefore gave it
a name that referred to its wing: Pterodactylus antiquus, Latin for ‘ancient winged
finger’. Eventually, he would classify the animal as a bat. He was not that far off; his
definition can, even in hindsight, be seen as a triumph for the methodical applica-
tion of science. Soemmering was trained as a doctor (among various other trades)
and applied his anatomical knowledge to the ‘Mannheim riddle’. Not everyone
was convinced, though. The famous Lorenz Oken also had a peek, and although he
could not make much of it, he did think it was reptilian.

28
Figure 14. Top: Collini’s pte-
rosaur, named Pterodactylus
antiquus by Von Sömmering.
Bottom: Drawing by Edig
Verhelst jr. (1784).

But, as usual in the early 19th century, the final say was with the famous French
anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832). Baron Cuvier had earned his reputation
using the method of compartive anatomy: the systematic comparison of anatomi-
cal features to determine kinship between animals. After weighing the alterna-
tives, Cuvier decided that this must have been a flying reptile, thus supporting
Sömmering and Oken’s earlier observations. But his conclusion went along with a
warning:

29
“These are undoubtedly the strangest of all the creatures that are revealed in [my] book and
that, when seen alive, would look like the oddest element of nature” – Georges Cuvier,
Ossemens Fossiles (1812)

And that was a bit of a revelation. Pterodactylus began to show itself as a nail in
the coffin of the concept that the entirety of Creation could still be found on earth
as it could on the seventh day. That a unicorn might hide itself in some corner of a
forest somewhere was, to some degree, plausible. But a flying animal?
Cuvier’s conclusions were not shared universally: as late as 1830, the German
anatomist Johannes Wagler sided with Colloni by condemning Pterodactylus to a
swimming existence. And its reptilian affiliations were also not undisputed. Alfred
Newman wrote in 1843 that he regarded the pterodactyls as flying and hairy mar-
supials – and took no small pride in his defiance of Cuvier.
However, by this time many more unlikely creatures had revealed themselves
to science, and to the public. In 1819, the young country doctor Gideon Mantell
(England) described the remains of the dinosaur Iguanodon – reconstructed later by
Hawkins as a huge and rather overweight iguana. Megalosaurus, the horrible animal
that had hunted Iguanodon was found only a few years later. The fragmentary re-
mains of both animals made reconstruction difficult, but made all sorts of conjec-

Figure 15. Etching prepared

for Edward Newman, ‘Note
on the pterodactyle tribe
considered as marsupial
bats’, from he Zoologist 1
(1843), pp. 129-131.

30
ture possible – and attractive. What it made clear, moreover, was that Pterodactylus
was but one inhabitant of a primeval world that bore little resemblance to the
present.
The average 19th-century citizen did not think this something to be ungrate-
ful about because it had been immediately apparent to them that such a world was
not one in which good cheer was predominant. The image used as a frontispiece
to Thomas Hawkins’ Book of the Great Sea-Dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri
(painted by John Martin) gives us some idea of the prevailing image of the ancient
earth (figure 16). We see how the night is filled with a writhing mass of infernal
creatures making life unpleasant for each other, biting and growling, with a ptero-
dactyl pecking the eye from a mosasaur in the corner. It is an image directly from
hell:
“the Spirit of Evil, opposed to the existence of all things, not excepting its own Suicidal-self.
Its effects upon the irst unguarded Sons of Man, gifted as they were with incredible moral and
physical energy, must have been awful. To ind themselves deposed from Authority as gods,
and their falling Empire invaded by frightful Swarms of Venomous Beings, must have torn
their hearts with rage and remorse” – Thomas Hawkins, Book of the Great Sea-Dragons,
Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, Gedolim Taninim, of Moses. Extinct Monsters of the Ancient
Earth (1840)

Victorians roughly divided nature into two kinds: the sort that was cultivated
and containable, like dogs, gardens and things from Olsen’s Book of British Birds.
On the other side of the equation stood wild nature, untameable and perilous.
This view ended in what amounted to the near-extermination of African wildlife
and the near-disappearance of the American bison. In which category Pterodactylus
and its kind belonged was immediately apparent. But this revulsion also created
fascination.

Figure 16. Frontispiece to

homas Hawkins’ he Book
of the Great Sea-Dragons,
Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri,
Gedolim Taninim of
Moses, Excinct Monsters
of the Earth by John Martin
(London, 1840).

31
The image of Pterodactylus as an over-grown, hellish bat would continue for
most of the 19th century, particularly in popular literature. Around 1900, read-
ers were treated to essentially the same images that Hawkins had used, and the
era’s pulp literature makes frequent use of the ‘phantom from hell’. Arthur Conan
Doyle’s wildly succesfull adventure novel, The Lost World, gives us a description of
pterodactyls, but they are hardly the heroes of the story:
“The place was a rookery of pterodactyls. There were hundreds of them congregated within
view. All the bottom area round the water-edge was alive with their young ones, and with hide-
ous mothers brooding upon their leathery, yellowish eggs. From this crawling lapping mass of
obscene reptilian life came the shocking clamor which illed the air and the mephitic, horrible,
musty odor which turned us sick. But above, perched each upon its own stone, tall, gray, and
withered, more like dead and dried specimens than actual living creatures, sat the horrible
males, absolutely motionless save for the rolling of their red eyes or an occasional snap of their
rat-trap beaks as a dragon-ly went past them. Their huge, membranous wings were closed by
folding their fore-arms, so that they sat like gigantic old women, wrapped in hideous web-colored
shawls, and with their ferocious heads protruding above them. Large and small, not less than
a thousand of these ilthy creatures lay in the hollow before us”. – Arthur Conan Doyle,
The Lost World (1912).

However, professional palaeontologist, insofar as they existed at the time (pal-

aeontology still had some way to go as an established branch of science) had by this
time begun to see pterosaurs in a somewhat different light.
An important step had been the final identification of ‘pterodactyls’ as fly-
ing animals. At the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the Dutch physician Tiberius
Cornelis Winkler (1822-1897) stumbled across a fossil bought by the museum from
Germany. To his amazement, the fossil of this animal, Pterodactylus kochi, seemed to
show an imprint of skin running the length of the elongated finger. When Winkler
published his observation in 1874, this seemed to take away all doubt about how
these animals had lived. But although Winkler reinforced Cuvier’s idea about the
flight of these animals, he supported Newman’s concept as well, by declaring that
‘the winged fingers undoubtedly had a life similar to those as the modern bat’.
By this time, pterosaurs had become treasured – and therefore costly – collec-
tor’s items. A fossil belonging to Ramphorhynchus, a pterosaur with a long tail, was
auctioned in 1880 for the considerable sum of 750 Pound Sterling. That might not
seem as much by modern standards, but at the time that sum would have bought
you a very comfortable home. Much of the cause of this development lay in the rise
in ‘serious’ interest for life from the past. The 1880s in particular were a time of
feverish activity. In the United States, Edward D. Cope (1840-1897) and Othniel
C. Marsh (1831-1899) were involved in a fanatical competition to outdo one an-
other with more and more sensational fossils. Huge Brontosauruses, Diplodocuses
and Camarasauruses were pulled out of the ground by the dozen, it seemed. In
Belgium, Louis Dollo (1857-1931) uncovered a complete herd of Iguanodons. The
fragmentary evidence that had been making life difficult for scholars, was replaced
by a much more complete archive. And the horror world that even Doyle still
used, was gradually adjusted and replaced by a ‘real’ ecosystem, one that adhered

32
Figure 17. Right:
Pterodactylus kochi drawn
in pastel by Tiberius Cornelis
Winkler, curator of Teylers
Museum in Haarlem, he to the laws of modern nature, albeit with a dramatically different cast. The ‘gen-
Netherlands (Archives du tlemen researchers’ of the Enlightenment were replaced by professional palaeon-
Musée Teyler, Vol. III, Fasc.
tologists, who in turn had to make place eventually for professional museums and
4. Haarlem, 1874). Left: Pen
drawing of the same animal. universities.
Up to this time, most pterosaurs had been found in Europe, mostly in central
and southern Germany. Apart from the three genera Pterodactylus, Ramphorhynchus
and its cousin Dimorphodon, not much material was known. That changed when in
the summer of 1870, one of Marsh’s crews found a number of hollow bones which
reminded them of European pterosaurs. These remains were only much, much big-
ger. Although Marsh was initially convinced to be dealing with a gigantic form of
Pterodactylus, eventually he decided that this had to be a distinct genus; he named
the animal Pteranodon ingens, the ‘gigantic wing without teeth’. It turned out to
be an altogether different animal from Pterodactylus. Pteranodon was huge, with a
wingspan of over seven metres. That was exceptional in it self, but the fact that the
animal possessed a large crest on its skull turned it into a truly spectacular animal.
Pteranodon has since become a regular cast member of what can be called the
‘dinosaur canon’: an exclusive club of the most famous ‘dinosaurs’ that dominates
the museum shop space, and which also contains Brontosaurus (nowadys called
Apatosaurus), Diplodocus, Tyrannosaurus, Dimetrodon and Ichtyosaurus. The trivial
fact that the animal is not even a dinosaur does not really seem to matter (it also does
not in the case of the pelycosaurian Dimetrodon and the ‘fish-lizard’ Ichthyosaurus)
(figure 18).
With the participation of Othniel Marsh, and more serious search efforts, the
study of pterosaurs gained a different character. The English scholar Harry Govier
Seeley (1839-1909) devoted a large part of his life to the study of pterosaurs, cul-
minating in the book Dragons of the Air (1901). In this synthesis of knowledge

33
of pterosaurs, Seeley tries to discredit the traditional image of pterosaurs as cold-
blooded, slow gliders, and emphasizes their anatomical similarities with birds. Like
birds, pterosaurs possessed hollow bones and an air-sac system that played a role
in the animal’s respiration, a four-chambered heart and various other adaptations
for active flight. Nowhere did Seeley uncover any significant indications for a life
similar to that of modern reptiles.
Seeley’s book, although influential, nonetheless had to compete with the pre-
vailing opinion that had turned dinosaurs – and therefore their cousins, the pte-
rosaurs – into slow, dim-witted and generally uninspiring creatures. The general
notion was of a world in which huge chunks of meat moved in slow-motion from
one place to the next, supported by water or even ‘thick air’, not able to deal with
changing circumstances. Towards the middle of the 20th century, this view came to
totally dominate the image of pterosaurs as well, not only in popular works, but
also among the scientific community. There was only marginal interest for palaeon-
tology as a science; the dim-witted dullards that scientists had created out of virtu-
ally all extinct creatures were not really ‘sexy’. Under these conditions, it was hardly
surprising that almost no new discoveries of any great significance were being made
in pterosaur palaeontology with the exception of Sordes.
It is therefore not entirely coincidental that the renewed interest in pterosaurs
only took place after their cousins, the dinosaurs, had become the subject of new
study, thereby propelling palaeontology in general again into the public and scien-
tific centre of interest. Over the course of the 1960s, a new generation of palaeon-
tologists put forward a dramatically different image of dinosaurs and pterosaurs as
active, warm-blooded, aggressive (sometimes too aggressive) animals that deserved

Figure 18. Pteranodon as

part of the façade of the
Berlin Aquarium (Heinrich
Harder in co-operation with
Gustav Tornier, 1913).

34
to be taken seriously. The more long-term consequences included a strong devel-
opment of vertebrate palaeontology as a science, and a dinomania that has never
ceased since.
In 1971, Douglas Lawson uncovered an enormous wing in Texas – one that
was considerably larger than that of Pteranodon. In subsequent years, a number of
animals were uncovered that were eventually given the name Quetzalcoatlus – a
reference to the Aztec god (and flying snake) Quetzalcoatl. The largest animal had
a wingspan of about thirty feet – thereby dwarfing Pteranodon, who had been de-
scribed as the largest-possible flying animal.
Giant forms such as Quetzalcoatlus and Pteranodon appear to have developed as
a consequence of the selective pressure caused by birds. After the early Cretaceous
smaller forms such as Pterodactylus vanished, whereas the largest pterosaurs would
last as long as the dinosaurs. As small pterosaurs were out-competed by birds, the
route of least resistance lay in gigantism, where pterosaurs had an advantage be-
cause of their build. A study from 1974 demonstrated how a seven-meter-wingspan
Pteranodon did not need to weigh much more than sixteen kilograms and could
fly at a minimum speed of around 25 kilometers per hour (the minimum airspeed
of an albatross is around 45 kilometers per hour). That allowed for a very soft and
controlled landing (compare that to the albatross’s mode of landing, which basi-
cally involves a not-so-controlled crash into the earth). Pteranodon needed a soft
landing, because with all the weight saving features, such as hollow bones, it had
become a fragile animal. What this made clear was that pterosaurs represented
some of the most extremely adapted creatures that had ever lived.
That conclusion has been confirmed since the 1970s by a veritable explosion of
finds in North America, Russia, China and most of all, Brazil. The unique forma-
tions in that country have yielded a very rich harvest, both in numbers and diver-
sity: from small to huge, from relatively simple forms to bizarre, complex creatures
with sailed crests. One of the strangest creatures is the ‘ur-flamingo’ Pterodaustro.
Each year, it seems as though the history and taxomony of pterosaurs requires a
re-write.

35
36
Pterosaurs: a short introduction
Pterosaurs were the first animals with a spine that could fly. They are related to
modern reptiles. One of the many groups of reptiles to which pterosaurs belong
have an additional hole in the skull – between the orbit and nasal opening – which
is a characteristic of ‘Archosaurs’, a group of animals that includes crocodiles (fig-
ure 19), dinosaurs and birds. But pterosaurs nonetheless differ distinctly from the
other groups within the Archosaurs.
But with which reptiles are pterosaurs most closely related? The rather old-
fashioned and rigid system of classifying plants and animals, which has been devel-
oped in the 18th century by Carolus Linnaeus, does not really work because of the
diagnostic features used and also because Linnaeus never thought animals would
evolve through time. Therefore, it might be better to classify pterosaurs in a sepa-
rate group rather than within the reptiles.

When did pterosaurs live?

Pterosaurs evolved in the Triassic, over 200 million years ago (see figure 2), but
the exact origin of the pioneers of the skies and how the start of this evolution
took place is not exactly known. The oldest finds show animals that were entirely
adapted to their flying existence and ancestors are either not yet found or not
recognised.

Triassic (figure 20)

During the Triassic, the big landmass known as Pangaea started to divide. Big parts
of northern Europe were deserts with big, very salty lakes. But southern Europe
was a big, shallow sea with enormous reefs. A new ocean, named Tethys, evolved

Figure 19. Crocodiles are ar-

chosaurs, just like pterosaurs,
because they have an addi-
tional opening in the skull
between the orbit and nasal
opening.

37
Figue 20. he Triassic world
(251 - 199.5 million years
ago).

Figure 21. he Jurassic world

(199.5 - 145.5 million years
ago).

between Africa and Europe. The biggest extinction earth has ever seen marked the
end of the Permian and the beginning of the Triassic (more on extinctions below).
Life started to recover from the devastating effects of this extinction, which offered
enormous opportunities for evolution due to which new, big groups of animals
evolved. Enormous sea creatures evolved in the oceans, whereas on land the first
dinosaurs and mammals appeared and also the first flying vertebrates came onto
the stage. By the end of the Triassic the diversity of dinosaurs increased distinctly
and one group of bipedal, meat-eating dinosaurs became the dominant predators.
Although some of these animals gained incredible sizes, most, however, were very
lightly built and rather small.

Jurassic (figure 21)

The worldwide rising of water levels and adaptive radiation of about everything
that had survived the mass extinction at the end of the Triassic mark the beginning
of the Jurassic. Adaptive radiation is the evolution of new species from a common
ancestor in order to adapt to and be able to survive new environments. The Jurassic

38
is famous for dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and the large variation of ammonites
(related to octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish). It is also the time of the dramatic in-
crease in bio-diversity. Some fishes, such as Leedsichthys grew to sizes comparable to
our whales, and monstrous big marine reptiles, such as the pliosaur Liopleurodon,
were the top predators of the seas. During the Jurassic the Atlantic Ocean started
to form. There are almost no signs of ice caps and the tropical climate was far more
north than nowadays. The first birds (such as Archaeopteryx; figure 22) and feath-
ered dinosaurs (among which Anchiornis) evolved.

Cretaceous (figure 23)

The Cretaceous period was a time of rising sea levels that, at the beginning of the
Late Cretaceous, had submerged most of the big continents of the world. Europe
was almost entirely submerged and there were big inland seas in Africa and North
America. The big rise in sea levels was due to the rapid development of the Atlantic
and other oceans, which created more, high mountain riches at the bottom of the
oceans. Another possible reason was rise of global temperatures, which melted the
icecaps.
But life flourished as never before on land. Dinosaurs continued in their spec-
tacular diversity, resulting among others in enormous sizes: Spinosaurus was a north
African fish eater 18 metres in length, whereas Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus
hunted in North and South America. The oceans were inhabited by the longneck-
necked plesiosaurs and the predatory pliosaurs, that grew bigger and bigger. They
were accompanied by mosasaurs, yet another fierce predator, and giant turtles.
Mammals also saw a marked increase in diversity, with some feasting on small di-
nosaurs and possibly also on our flying friends. Pterosaurs were still master of the
skies and they too grew to monstrous sizes, with Quetzalcoatlus being one of the
largest with a wingspan of 10 metres! Birds were rather rare in the Jurassic, but di-
versity increased distinctly in the Cretaceous. Still, pterosaurs and birds were not
real competitors, because they occupied entirely different niches. At the end of the
Cretaceous, pterosaurs became extinct.
Figure 22. Archaeopteryx
is a theropod-dinosaur with
feathers. Moreover, it has a
large number of small, curved
teeth and ingers with claws
to its wings. However, it does
not have a bird-like pelvis
and shoulder and without
his feathers would not have
gained much attention when
it was discovered in 1860.
Archaeopteryx is a classical
example of the ‘missing link’
with features that are seen in
meat-eating dinosaurs but
also has feathers like those of
a bird.

39
Figure 23. he Late
Cretaceous world (145.5 -
65.5 million years ago).

Where did pterosaurs live?

The relatively newly discovered Crato and Santana Formations in the Araripe Basin
in northeast Brazil produces abundant remains of pterosaurs. Comparably rich
formations are also to be found in China, where three formations (the Daohugou
layer, part of the Tiaojishan Formation) and the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations
all produce the most spectacular finds. But pterosaurs are found elsewhere too: not
least in Morocco, Argentina and Mongolia. Indeed fossils of these pioneers of the
air have been found everywhere in the world. Recently an entirely new species has
been discovered at Solnhofen, Germany, the same site that yielded the first ptero-
saur fossil in 1784, over 200 years before this newer find.

FOCUS
Extinction

Extinction is just as much a part of evolution as the evolution of new species and frequently happens in a
series of waves. The earth has witnessed several major and minor extinctions, the most devastating being
the one at the end of the Permian period when some 90 to 95 percent of all life in the seas and over 70
percent of all life on land perished. The main cause was a series of prolonged and severe volcanic eruptions
in Siberia. Another major mass extinction occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period when the dino-
saurs, a highly successful group, along with other animals, were wiped from the face of the earth by a huge
meteorite. Its diameter is estimated at between 10 and 30 km and the impact took place at Chicxulub on
the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. This impact also marked the end of the pterosaurs, but not for birds
nor for another group of relatively small, insect-eating mammals which took the opportunity to take to
the air and who would come to dominate the night sky: the bats.

40
Mark explains walk ‘on stilts’. For this kind of life it was not
necessary to have a flexible neck! Even their wings
corresponded to those of modern storks and ibis-
Quetzalcoatlus es. Literature confirms this, but none of these
publications was based on real research. The first
theory was that they were specialist scavengers
that, as a kind of overgrown vulture, circled high
in the sky seeking food in the form of dinosaur
carcasses for example. Others came to the con-
clusion that they sought buried molluscs along
muddy coasts, or sought other small, tasty meals
in the shallows of the coastal waters. Yet others
saw them as swimming fishers or as creatures that
dived down from the sky to snatch fish out of
the water (see: ‘Mark explains: Anhanguera’, pp.
81-83) or ploughed through the water with their
lower jaw, as skimmers do.
Well ... just a fleeting glance at our modern
The Azhdarchids comprises a group of pterosaurs animals suggests that these gigantic pterosaurs
with very long, narrow skulls, even longer necks could not perform any of these actions. Modern
and long hind legs, but with relatively small animals that gather food by similar means are
wings. Some pterosaurs, such as Quetzalcoatlus very specialized creatures with millions of years of
and Hazegopteryx, were as tall as a giraffe and fine-tuning behind them. Most adaptations have
large enough to swallow the average pterosaur re- led to a different lifestyle.
searcher whole … They probably had the long- With the extremely sleek jaws of the skim-
est jaws of all non-marine prehistoric animals. mer, for example, tearing off pieces of flesh from
Those long, stiff necks … not very dynamic as a carcass would be impossible, whereas the jaws
the creature could do little more than move its of a true scavenger are not suitable for seeking
head up and down. Its neck allowed only a mini- out worms and suchlike in the soil. It is not easy
mum amount of sideways motion. So what could to uncover how these gigantic pterosaurs satisfied
it do under these circumstances? Well, it could their hunger but it must be possible to find the

Quetzalcoatlus is sometimes referred to as the prehistoric stork. Here you see the beautiful saddle-billed stork
(Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis).

41
answer on the basis of enough fossil material and and the more a carcass is transported through wa-
by approaching things in a straightforward and ter, for example, the quicker it falls apart and the
logical manner with regard to the places where longer it is exposed to external factors, such as
the fossils were found. To begin with the latter: by scavengers. And that is exactly what we see in wa-
simply examining the geological circumstances at tery environments.
the places where the fossils were found – and also The complete animals were interred very rap-
the fossils that were found in the same sedimen- idly, whereas the isolated bones have probably
tary layers – it became evident that more than drifted around for quite some time. This indi-
half of the fossils (including the most complete, cates that the animals spent their days on flood
articulated skeletons, and the locations where plains and in woods rather than on the beach or
various individuals were found together) were next to the sea. However, the idea that these giant
discovered inland. Only a handful of discoveries creatures actually lived by the water is still cham-
came from an environment abundant in water. pioned by some people. According to their the-
And these finds are the most fragmentary of all. ory, the animals found land inwards were those
In other words, the animals at the inland discov- that died on their way from one coast to another.
ery points died where the palaeontologist found But this is approximately the same as suggesting
the fossils or at least very close by. The longer that Tyrannosaurus rex was in fact a beach dweller

42
and that the numerous finds in inland sediments not mean that they were not opportunistic and
are the result of death during migration: isn’t this gnawed at carrion now and again.
a bit far-fetched? A much less complicated expla- So, why shouldn’t they have meandered
nation, one supported by the data, is that these around in swamps and ponds, rooting for food?
animals simply lived inland! Actually, it would have been rather difficult for
But what if we now compare the skeleton them to discover where something edible is hid-
to that of modern animals that inhabit the same ing, as there are no indications that they had sen-
niches as the large pterosaurs allegedly also inhab- sors. These densely packed ‘bumps’ or receptors
ited? A ‘niche’ is described by NCB Naturalis on form a sensitive instrument that gives modern
the website www.natuurinformatie.nl as: ‘Every birds information about the underground situ-
organism fulfils a certain function within the com- ation so that they know where they might find
munity within which it lives. We know the func- food. Moreover, it is much simpler to stick your
tions of herbivore and carnivore, for example. This snout in the sand and mud if it is narrow and
type of functional position is called a “niche”. In streamlined, instead of having deep, high jaws
different continents, the same niches were often oc- like Quetzalcoatlus. And how can you grab a bite
cupied by very different organisms. For instance, in to eat if, like the pterosaurs, you only have a hinge
North America the niche of the “large grazers” was with the skull at the back of the jaw? Modern
occupied by bison, in Africa by zebras and antelopes, birds that seek food in the soil have a second joint
and in Australia by kangaroos.” more to the front, which gives them the opportu-
So: could these largest pterosaurs have ever nity to open the tip of their beak without having
lived as vultures? The wings, relatively short and to open the jaw itself. This is very handy if your
wide, were extremely well suited to flying in an beak is in the mud! There, we can conclude that
inland environment, because they effortlessly our giants did not follow this way of gathering
generate upward force when taking off in sur- food.
roundings with varying wind conditions. In ad- What about swimming? Well, of all the pte-
dition, the creatures would incur fewer injuries rosaurs, Azhdarchids are approximately the least
to their smaller wings in the presence of much adapted to water. Their long, slender limbs and
vegetation. It is possible that Quetzalcoatlus and narrow hands and feet were of little use in mov-
its relatives made use of thermal air currents, as ing through water. The structure of their skeleton
many present-day birds of prey do. Thus, there also precludes the notion that they could snatch
can be little discussion on whether or not these their prey out of the water with their hands. Both
large pterosaurs were capable of soaring and seek- the hands and the feet were embedded in the wing
ing carrion; but how would they eat it once they membrane so they would be completely depend-
had found it? This was less straightforward than ent on their snout for gathering food. The long
might seem. Although the size of the pterosaurs neck and skull are not what you might expect of
must have frightened off most other scavengers, a hunter that can fly. Modern birds of prey rely
enabling them to have first pick of the available on their beaks to seize their prey. They have large,
food, but their long stiff neck and large skull pre- wide beaks and short necks, and combine these
vented them from penetrating deep into the car- with great manoeuvrability. Quetzalcoatlus and its
cass, so that much food remained out of reach. fellows have none of these adaptations.
The jaws were not equipped with a ‘meat hook’ Palaeontologists are fond of the idea of catch-
as many of the modern scavengers are, so it is ing fish in the air as a method of gathering food
improbable that they were specifically adapted (see ‘Mark explains: Anhanguera’, pp. 81-83), but
to tearing carcasses apart. Of course, this does this is rather far-fetched for the Azhdarchids. That

43
the head is suddenly folded under the body with
great force. The neck functions as a buffefor these
intentional or unintentional collisions.
In the case of Quetzalcoatlus this would have
led to serious neck complaints. In addition, this
method of gathering food – cutting through the
water with your lower jaw – is an extreme spe-
cialization and only occurs in a few bird species
that have had to overcome all kinds of evolution-
ary obstacles in order to become effective enough
to be able to feed on fish. One of the most im-
portant adaptations is the streamlining of the
lower jaw to a thickness comparable to that of a
knife so that the resistance of the water is reduced
to a minimum (see figure on page 82). At the
same time, the jaw is high and relatively robust
Catching ish in light is a popular theory with palaeon- in order to withstand any impact during skim-
tologists but the evidence suggests that only a small group ming. For the same reason, the hinge of the jaw is
of pterosaurs were anatomically well equipped for such hugely reinforced and the muscles are sufficiently
methods. developed to absorb the major forces involved.
Absolutely none of the Azhdarchids has features
unusually long, stiff neck simply cannot bend ad- such as those described. On the contrary, they
equately to grab prey out of the water. In relation have slender jaws with flattened masticating sur-
to the flying danger above it, a fish is suspend- faces, relatively small muscles and a rather frag-
ed motionlessly in the water. So you need a very ile jaw joint. In combination with the stiff neck,
flexible neck to grab it, and these large pterosaurs these characteristics ensure that this method of
just do not have that. The importance of having fishing would not work for them.
a flexible neck is even greater than among birds Wading in water is a lifestyle that demands
that cut through the water with their lower jaw, much less energy and adaptation. Quetzalcoatlus
as skimmers do: on impact with a prey (or acci- and its fellows belonged to a group of pterosaurs
dently with a twig, stone or ground, for example), that were very well equipped to live on land.

m c Skimmers gather food by ploughing through the

water with their lower jaw (see also ‘Mark explains:
Anhanguer’, pp. 81-83).

44
Pedestrian activity must have been no problem. with small cushions (see figure 71), which makes
The long legs were extremely convenient for walking and standing much more comfortable
wading through shallow waters, and their necks while also providing protection. Long limbs are
– the great snag in the other theories – is now also a bonus because you cover more distance
no longer a problem. They only had to bend it a with each step, and you thus increase your walk-
little to seize the food that was abundantly avail- ing efficiency. One of the tracks found – with
able on the ground. The enormous jaws were of seven metres one of the longest ever found! – re-
great value, because they ensured that the neck vealed another interesting fact. Most advanced
did not need to bend too far to allow their snouts pterosaurs had limbs that stretched slightly diag-
to reach the ground. So, that appears to be clear. onally outwards, but these giants had their limbs
But the traces that have recently been found in right under their bodies and they combined this
Korea have tarnished that theory. In a nutshell, with the efficient, vertical posture of mammals
the hands and feet are pretty small for the size and birds. Having limbs directly under the body
of their body. If you want to wade through shal- has enormous benefits, forming a most efficient
lows with soft ground underfoot, it is best to have and stable platform for supporting their massive
large feet with toes you can spread out wide, so bodies. This means that Quetzalcoatlus was a per-
that you have as large a surface area as possible fectly adapted land animal, more adapted than
to distribute your weight and avoid sinking deep most other pterosaurs.
into the mud. This is a problem, of course, with You may expect that Quetzalcoatlus picked up
the largest of these critters, which are estimated everything that was edible, from insects to fruit to
to have weighed 250 kg! baby dinosaurs ... After all, ‘ready-to-eat’ can be
Hmm…, we have probably held on too tightly a pretty large category if you have a skull that is
to the idea that all pterosaurs lived in and around more than two metres in length! There are quite a
water. What would happen if we, as a matter of number of modern birds that lead a similar exist-
speaking, would tie them to a post on a very long ence. Storks and ground hornbills, for example,
rope in an environment far distant from rivers, terrorize the African grasslands in their search for
ponds and swamps? What would they do then ready-to-eat creatures. The figure shows the mon-
when they became hungry? Well, having small strously large Quetzalcoatlus on a foray across the
hands and feet has a great advantage when walk- Cretaceous prairies. The animal on the right has
ing on dry ground and even requires less energy seized a baby Titanosaur, of which fossils have
than walking around with large hands and feet! been found in the same sediment layers as the
In addition, their heels and toes were furnished pterosaur fossils.

45
The Solnhofen Limestones: the rocks that gave us pterosaurs (figure 24)
Man has a long history with the laminated limestones of the Solnhofen Plattenkalk
(lithographic limestone). These rocks outcrop at numerous sites around southern
Germany and have been quarried since the Stone Age, first for use in construction,
and later for carving reliefs and most recently for use in printing. The perfectly-flat,
millimetre-thick limestone sheets are still actively quarried today for use in con-
struction and lithography, a printing technique that uses polished Solnhofen lime-
stone as a printing plate. The quarrying methods for the rocks remain distinctly
low-tech, with great slabs of rock split manually with hammers and chisels as they

Figure 24. Around Solnhofen,

southern Germany. Many
pterosaur species as well as
numerous other animals have
been found here together with
the famous prehistoric bird
Archaeopteryx (igure 22).

46
have been for generations. While this makes obtaining the stone a laborious proc-
ess, it ensures that the eyes of thousands of quarrymen have, over the centuries,
kept a keen look out for the fossils that riddle the stone. Fossils may have been of
significance even to our Palaeolithic forebears but have been studied scientifically
only since the early 1700s. Three centuries on, we now appreciate Solnhofen as an
almost unique window into the Mesozoic. Thought to represent a shallow, reef-
ridden lagoon, the limestone of Solnhofen is so fine that even jellyfish – animals
comprised of 90 per cent water – have been fossilised. Such preservation is quite
astonishing and allows us to study the diversity of the ecosystem in much greater
depth than normally would be possible.
With such detailed preservation it is not surprising to learn that much is known
of the Solnhofen fauna. Plants, insects, molluscs, echinoderms, fishes, marine rep-
tiles, lizards, crocodiles, dinosaurs, pterosaurs and birds are all known from the
Solnhofen lagoon. Perhaps the most famous fossil remains are that of Archaeopteryx,
the earliest known bird, and a fossil that has been at the core of various contro-
versies since its discovery in 1861 (figure 22). Pterosaurologists have a particular
affection for Solnhofen since it was in these deposits that the first pterosaur fossils
were discovered sometime before 1757. The first pterosaur specimen was a com-
plete skeleton of an animal that would later be named Pterodactylus. As explained
previously, its discovery caused a stir over its habits and taxonomic affinities: some
experts thought it was amphibious, others saw it as a flier. Several scholars claimed
that it was of mammalian origin, but others argued for reptilian affinities. Such

Figure 25. An example of the

fossil of Rhamphorhynchus
muensteri. Note the preserved
light membrane and tail
vane. See also igure 34.
10 cm

47
confusion, possibly appearing a little strange in the modern day when the concept
of pterosaurs is very well established, originated because of the bizarreness of pte-
rosaur anatomy: no one had ever seen anything like it before. Furthermore, the
idea that different animals existed before man was not generally accepted at all by
the predominantly Christian scientific community of that time; the discovery of
an animal as clearly alien as a pterosaur was an important piece of evidence for the
concept of life before man.
Over two centuries later, the Solnhofen deposits continue to provide pterosaur
fossils and, to date, at least 12 Solnhofen pterosaur species are known including the
seagull-like Rhamphorhynchus, the insect-chasing Anurognathus and the spoonbill-

Figure 26. One of the early

pterosaurs, Anurognathus,
was insectivorous. his is
one of the smallest pterosaurs
known with a wingspan of
about 40 cm.

Figure 27. Gnathosaur was

probably a ilter feeder - its
dentition consists of many
long, slender teeth. he skull
is seen from below.
10 cm
48
mimic Gnathosaurus. Some, like Anurognathus, are extremely rare with only one
or two specimens known, but others are preserved in enough abundance that we
can trace their development from hatchlings to fully grown adults. Moreover, new
techniques of looking at specimens recovered as early as the 1700s mean that new
discoveries are still being made. Analysis of pterosaur specimens with ultraviolet
light, for instance, developed by Helmut Tischlinger, has revealed previously un-
seen soft tissues such as cornified crests, ‘fuzz’ (pycnofibres) and entirely preserved
muscles. Despite having the longest history of a pterosaur-bearing deposit in the
world, there is clearly still much which can be learned from Solnhofen.

Where Pterandon roams: the Niobrara Formation (figure 28)

For much of the Upper Cretaceous, North America was split by a shallow seaway
that, at its greatest extent, covered much of central America, the entire region be-
tween what would become the Rocky and Appalachian mountain chains and much

Figure 28. he Smoky Hills

are in Cove County, Kansas
(United States). Pteranodon
and Nyctosaur are the only
known pterosaur-taxa from
this location.

49
of Canada. The innumerable skeletons of calcareous algae that lived in this sea ac-
cumulated in chalky deposits that provide an excellent record of an entire ancient
marine ecosystem. A wealth of giant oysters, enormous marine reptiles, sharks,
bony fish, swimming birds and some of the most spectacular pterosaurs known are
just some of the fossils which also exist in these deposits. Although the remains
of these creatures can be found across North America, the most complete record
of their existence is found in the Smoky Hill Member of the Niobrara Formation
of Kansas. This productive fossil site has been explored since the late 1860s and
many famous North American fossil collectors and palaeontologists (including sev-
eral members of the Sternberg family, Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope)
– have played a part in uncovering its secrets. With over 150 years of research and
collecting, the Smoky Hill Member is now recognised as one of the most compre-
hensively known Mesozoic marine ecosystems.
The Smoky Hill Member is significant to pterosaur researchers for a number
of reasons. First, the discovery of pterosaurs in these deposits in 1870 was the first
indication that pterosaurs existed in the New World. Secondly, save for a few scraps
from southern England, the Smoky Hill pterosaurs provided the first indication
that some of these creatures were huge. The discoverer of a pterosaur in Kansas,
O.C. Marsh, wrote in his first report of these finds in 1871 that their wingspans
were predicted to be “not less than twenty feet!” Complete remains of these giants
were quickly unearthed and, over a hundred years on, the Niobrara provides us

Figue 29. Othniel Marsh and

‘his’ Pteranodon.

50
with the most comprehensive record of giant pterosaurs. In addition, the Smoky
Hill pterosaurs were the first to be clearly toothless, a find that contrasted with the
entirely toothed pterosaur record known from Europe at that time.
However, compared to the other fossil deposits (known as lagerstätte) discussed
here, the Smoky Hill Member has a relatively impoverished pterosaur fauna. In
fact, there are only three species currently recognised from this deposit, and they
all belong in the same group, the pteranodontians. This group is best known for the
giant pterosaur Pteranodon (wingspan seven metres), but the smaller Nyctosaurus
(two metre span) is a minor fossil celebrity thanks to its oversize, antler-like head
crest. Both are specialised pterosaurs that were well adapted for soaring long dis-
tances over the Western Interior Seaway. Nyctosaurus is the rarer of the two, but
Pteranodon is known from over 1100 individual specimens, some of which are rela-
tively complete skeletons (and others of which are isolated bones) so that we have
evidence of every bone in their bodies. Such abundance means that Pteranodon is
one of the best studied and understood pterosaurs: we have enough data to perform
statistical analyses on its growth and sexual dimorphism, for instance, as well as to
develop a catalogue of is pathologies. There is also fossil evidence of the creatures
that they ate and of those that ate them. The Smoky Hill Member, then, is not so
important for the diversity of the pterosaurs but for the depth of information it
reveals about those few types of pterosaur that existed there; few other fossil sites
come close.

Giving pterosaurs more depth: the Araripe Group lagerstätte

(figure 30)
Prior to the 1970s, there was little evidence that Brazil could harbour pterosaur
remains, and still less that it would, arguably, yield some of the finest in the world.
Only one isolated pterosaur bone had ever been reported from the entire coun-
try, a record hardly suggestive of the exquisite fossils that would follow. In 1971,
however, pterosaur fossils from the Araripe Group, an extensive outcrop of Lower
Cretaceous deposits in northeast Brazil, put this forgotten corner of South America
firmly on the pterosaur map. Finds from these rocks have become an indispensible
component of modern pterosaur research.
The first pterosaurs from the Araripe stemmed from deposits known as the
Santana Formation, a site with unusual depositional conditions that makes its pter-
osaur fossils unique. Rather than being squashed flat, these fossils were undistorted
and three-dimensionally preserved in amazing detail, right down to the millimetre-
thick trabeculae, which criss-cross the shafts of limb bones. Though initial remains
were scanty, further discoveries made throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s re-
vealed that almost entire skeletons of Santana pterosaurs could be found and, oc-
casionally, would be associated with exquisitely preserved soft tissues. The secret
to this three-dimensionality lay with the limestone nodules that grew around the
skeletons of fossils buried within the ancient Santana lagoon. Whilst the sediments
around them were vulnerable to compression as more sediment accumulated, the
nodules were strong enough to resist compaction and prevented their bony cargo

51
Figure 30. he Araripe basin
in northeast Brazil: the small
villages of Nova Olinda and
Timorante.

from being squashed to the pancake-like state typical of most pterosaur fossils. The
importance of these fossils to pterosaur research cannot be overstated: as well as
revealing hitherto unseen details of pterosaur wing membrane structure, the un-
distorted nature of the Santana pterosaur bones makes them the ‘go-to’ fossils for

52
research into their skeletal mechanics. These details, coupled with the fact that the
Santana Formation holds the thalassodromids, a group of sail-crested pterosaurs
not definitively known from anywhere else in the world, makes it a particularly
special pterosaur fossil site.
The bounty from the Araripe Group does not stop here, however. Remains
published in 1994 revealed another Araripe deposit with excellent pterosaur fos-
sils – known as the Crato Formation. These rocks, slightly older than those of the
Santana Formation, are not only known for their pterosaurs; plants, insects, fish
and a number of other fossil types have been extracted from the limestone slabs
that represent the Crato lagoon in the modern day. Once, this lagoon was a large
body of water that slowly cycled between fresh- and saltwater conditions, appar-
ently with anoxic bottom waters that prevented disruption to potential fossil mate-
rial. Although the fossils are not three-dimensional like those of the neighbouring
Santana Formation, the Crato layers preserve soft tissue far more readily and, in
two cases, provided the first evidence that some pterosaurs significantly extended
their famous head crests beyond their bony limits. Apparently comprised of a kera-
tin-like material, some Crato crests occupy over 80 per cent of the lateral skull area
and are, proportionally speaking, the largest cranial crests of any animal known.
Pterosaur wing membranes, soft tissue components of their beaks, claw sheaths
and scaly foot pads have also been recovered from Crato slabs. Unfortunately, this
Figure 31. halassodromeus exquisite detail appears to come at the expense of completeness: to date, not one
sethi, with its enormous head, Crato pterosaur has been found in its entirety. In fact, not one Crato pterosaur skull
is known only from Brazil.
has been found with associated body remains and, paradoxically, the only complete
See also igure 77.
Crato pterosaur body skeleton has no head! Nonetheless, there is no reason to as-
sume that associated skull and body material would not turn up one day and, in the
meantime, the amount of detail observable from Crato soft tissue discoveries alone
more than makes up for the bizarre selective preservation of this deposit.

Figure 32. Tugulu and (next

page) a young man that looks
suspiciously like a well known
pterosaurologist standing in
front of the Yixian Formation
in China.

53
The ancient lake deposits of Liaoning Province (figure 32)
Few fossil localities have revolutionised our understanding of the Mesozoic like
those of Liaoning Province, China. First recognised in the 1920s by American
geologist Amadeus W. Grabau, it took over 60 years for the uniqueness of the
Liaoning sites to be appreciated but they are now recognised as the most com-
prehensive window into inland Mesozoic ecosystems yet known. Yielding insights
into the Middle Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, there are plants, molluscs, insects,
fish, amphibians, lizards, mammals and, most famously, feathered dinosaurs. All
are known in abundance from these localities, often in more complete and detailed
states than can be found anywhere else in the world. Furthermore, Liaoning has
not only yielded many of the best examples of previously known animals but has
also shed light into otherwise totally unknown groups of Mesozoic forms. It is no
exaggeration to say that as the 21st century progresses, the eyes of most vertebrate
palaeontologists will be focussed on Liaoning.
The reason for Liaoning’s astonishingly high calibre preservation stems from
its ultra-fine, sometimes paper-thin, layers of mud and siltstone. These layered
deposits can, quite literally, resemble the pages of a book, and were deposited at
the bottom of a series of deep lakes. They are interbedded between conglomer-
ates, sandstones and volcanic tuffs, recording rivers crossing the lake plains and
the fallout from local volcanic eruptions. The bottom of these ancient lakes appear
quite inhospitable to life and any live organisms or carcasses that fell into them
were safe from scavengers and other forms of decay, leaving their remains perfectly
primed for fossilisation. The fact that they survive for Chinese fossil collectors to
discover today is all the more remarkable considering the turbulent tectonic history
of Liaoning in more recent times.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, few deposits reveal such a complete Mesozoic biota;
pterosaurs are very well represented in Liaoning with, presently, over 20 species of
pterosaur named from this region. In time many of these will almost certainly be
recognised as variants of the same form but, crucially, many of the pterosaur spe-
cies from Liaoning represent entirely new, exciting groups like the primitive (basal)
monofenestratans, chaoyangopterids and boreopterids.
Groups previously only known from scanty remains are also known in their
entirety from Liaoning, so that we finally can grasp the anatomy of tapejarids and
istiodactylids with more certainty. Perhaps the most celebrated pterosaur from this
region is Darwinopterus, a form that not only provides the bridge between the
long-recognised basal pterosaur/pterodactyloid split (see below) but also reveals
insights into some fundamental processes of evolution itself. Other finds provide
incredibly detailed soft-tissue preservation that show the internal structure of pte-
rosaur wing membranes, their ‘fuzz’ and colour patterning. Furthermore, if some
recent work on dinosaur fossils from these deposits is transferred to pterosaur fos-
sils, we may soon have a handle on actual pterosaur colouration. As if this were not
enough, Liaoning has provided two of the three pterosaur eggs currently known,
an essential contribution to our understanding of pterosaur reproductive biology.
With plenty of unexplored quarries and exposures, there is no reason to think that

54
Figure 33. he hypotheti-
cal evolution of light in
pterosaurs.

Liaoning will cease to provide still further surprises and, undoubtedly, the impor-
tance of these deposits to pterosaurologists and other fossil vertebrate workers is
only going to increase.

Evolution
It seems that the transition from a non-flying, possibly soaring animal to flying pte-
rosaurs happened in the forests of the Middle Triassic (figure 33). Unfortunately,
. Figure 34. he basal such an environment is not conducive to fossilisation, which means that our quest
pterosaur Rhamphorhychus for these pterosaur ancestors may be in vain.
difered from the later, more
The first flying reptiles were rather basal, which differed distinctly from the
advanced pterosaurs. For ex-
ample, they had a long, rigid later, more advanced pterosaurs. They had a long, rigid tail (figure 34) with a vane
tail. Both fossils are among at the end (see figure 50), had a comparatively small, short and relatively wide head
the best examples known and (which with the evolution of Eudimorphodon in the Jurassic period became consid-
are housed in the famous erably longer), short wings and a foot with a outwards extending toe. This toe was
Teylers Museum in Haarlem, used to span the membrane between the hind legs (cruropatagium). The metacar-
he Netherlands.
pals were short rather than long as seen in the later species (see figure 34). All early

55
pterosaurs had teeth: the loss of teeth (edentulous) is a fairly late development that Figure 35. he biggest
is seen first in the Cretaceous in Pteranodon. The early pterosaurs were also quite lying animal to date:
small, but sizes increased in the Cretaceous, resulting in spectacular giants such as Quetzalcoatlus.
Quetzalcoatlus (figure 35).
For many years, palaeontologists classified pterosaurs into two groups: the old-
est animals, so-called Rhamphorhynchoidea-pterosaurs (see figures 25 and 34) and
the geologically younger, more advanced Pterodactyloidea-pterosaurs (figure 36,
but see also figure 6). We now know that this classification is far too simplistic
and does not show the evolutionary relationship between the groups. For example,
some Rhamphorhynchus- species did not have a long tail and recently a new ptero-
saur, Darwinopterus, has been recovered, with a neck like that seen in the younger
short-tail pterosaurs but combined with the long tail characteristic of the early
group.

56
Figure 36. he traditional
classiication in ‘long-tail
pterosaurs’ (see igure 34) and
‘short-tail pterosaurs’ is no
longer adequate for visualis-
ing the relationship between
the two groups.

5 cm

57
58
he skeleton
Pterosaurs are differentiated from other vertebrates such as dinosaurs and mam-
mals by their ability to fly. Although most birds as well as bats can fly, still there
are differences between their morphology and that of pterosaurs (figure 37). No
creature, living or extinct, resembles the pterosaurs. What then makes the skeleton
of these animals so special?

Figure 37. he skeleton of

Pteranodon. For comparison
the skeletons of a modern bird
and a bat are depicted. he
most important diferences are
indicated.

59
The skull
It is not possible to give a generalised description of a pterosaur skeleton because
there is so much variation. However, if we concentrate on the animals that lived
in the Cretaceous period we see a relatively big skull with a lot of openings (so-
called fenestrae; figure 38). The reason of the openings is that it makes the skull
much lighter and thus easier to fly. The ratio between skull and body was well bal-
anced in the earliest pterosaurs. The cross-section of the skull of the more advance
pterosaurs is triangular, due to which the orbits are orientated more towards the
front and upwards than in the earlier and less advanced forms. This means that the
animals looked forwards rather than sideways and therefore were better at depth
perception and thus better able to grasp prey. The eyeball was protected by small,
partially overlapping bony plates (figure 39). In the advanced pterosaurs, in front
of the orbits, were large openings that, together with the nasal opening, formed one
massive cavity (the so-called nasopreorbital fenestra; compare figure 38 with 39).
The skull makes an angle with the neck, but it is smaller in the older, less advanced
species in which it is roughly in line with the spinal column.

10 cm

Figure 38. Several examples of

skulls of Cretaceous pterosaurs
from Brazil. Top to bottom:
Criorhynchus mesembrinus,
Coloborhynchus spielbergi,
the skull of an Anhanguera-
species (see also igure 64) and
the toothless Tupuxuara.

60
Figure 39. he eye-ball is pro-
tected with a ring of tiny bony
plates which partially overlap,
their impressions are visible
in this Rhamphorhynchus
fossil.

10 cm

FOCUS
Teeth

Many pterosaurs had teeth, a characteristic seemingly inherited from their

pre-flight ancestors. There is a huge difference in shape, size, number and
the way they were set into the jaws. Detailed mapping of the teeth (figure
42) allows the palaeontologist to recognise species: some had only teeth in
the front of the jaws, in others the teeth ware facing markedly outwards.
For example, the teeth in Coloborhynhus piscator were long and robust (see
figure 40), whereas Anhanguera had much shorter and thinner teeth. Those
in Rhamphorhynchus incline outwards and towards the front (see figure 34)
and those of Eudimorphodon had three or five cusps. This diversity is re-
lated to the diet and the way their owners obtained it (see ‘Mark explains:
Dsungaripterus’, pp. 24-25 and Pterodaustro’; pp. 66-68).
Like crocodiles, pterosaurs developed more teeth with age. At least twice
during their evolution pterosaurs became edentulous but this was a rather
late development. Why, when and how teeth in some species disappeared is
not well understood, but it seems that these species later had an advantage
and could better respond to changes in ecosystems (about 90 million years
ago). It is notable that these edentulous species were able to grow to gigan-
tic proportions, although also smaller edentulous species are known with a
wingspan of only about 1.5 metres.

61
10 cm

1 cm

1 cm 1 cm

Figure 40. he skull of

Coloborhynchu piscator
is one of the best fossils we
have and also the biggest of
this species, despite the fact
10 cm that it was not a fully grown
animal. he large, curved
teeth are excellent for grasp-
ing slippery ish. Note the
teeth at the back, which are
distinctly smaller and more
widely spaced. he bottom
1 cm series of photographs are of an
Anhanguera-species. he teeth
1 cm
are substantially smaller and
thinner.

62
c Figure 42. Mapping the
dentition in detail allows the
palaeontologist to diferentiate
between species.

From the beginning onwards, pterosaurs had teeth, but there is great variation
in their number, size and shape. Some species had teeth only in the front of the
jaws, whereas others had them along the whole length of the jaw (figure 40, but
see also figure 34).
Many pterosaurs had head crests. As early as the Triassic species developed a
crest, such as Austriadactylus, but the diversity increased enormously in the Jurassic
and especially in the Cretaceous (figure 43). Crests could be situated at the back
of the skull but also at the front; some animals had crests at the front and back.

1 cm

m Figue 41. he cross-sec-

tion of the lower jaw of
Coloborhynchus spielbergi
clearly shows how the teeth
are anchored in the jaw. Note
the bony struts in the hollow
bones that reinforce them.

Figure 43. A few examples of

the great variety of crests.

63
The lower jaw could have a crest but this is relatively rare. There is also a big varia-
tion in size and construction. Some crests are made of bone, others consist of skin
with internal reinforcement consisting of tough, fibre-like network or a combina-
tion of bone and reinforced skin (see figures 7 and 44). There are small, low and
very thin crests as seen in several Anhanguera skulls or big antler-like constructions
as seen in Nyctosaurus (see ‘Mark explains: Nyctosaurus’, pp. 72-73). Seemingly,
the species without head ‘decoration’ were a minority: of these, the badly known
Brasileodactylus might be an example, as well as Pterodaustro (see ‘Mark explains:
Pterodaustro’, pp. 66-68).

Figure 44. he fossil of

Tupandactylus imperator
with a well preserved crest,
10 cm including parts that are made
of soft tissue. See also igure
85.

64
FOCUS
Crests

Much speculation has developed over the function of the crests in pter-
osaurs (see ‘Mark explains: Tapejara’, pp. 114-115 and ‘Mark explains:
Anhanguera’, pp. 81-83). For a long time, scientists have tried to prove that
some crests played an important part in collecting food. For example in
Coloborhynchus (see figure 38) the crest had an important role in stabilis-
ing the animal when, in full flight, they dipped their head in the water to
catch fish. So, a mechanical explanation is proposed, just as in the past the
crests at the back of the head were explained as aerodynamic adaptations
for flight. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that an aerodynamic
explanation is unlikely. Most palaeontologists currently agree that the crests
were primarily communication devices enabling species recognition, distin-
guishing between males and females (sexual dimorphism) and providing a
display mechanism during mating – a way to discourage rival males whilst
attracting females. This has been convincingly proven for Pteranodon (figure
45); those with a crest were males (see ‘Mark explains: Pteranodon,’ pp. 92-
95). A supporting argument for their function in communication is the fact
that pterosaurs had good sight (see ‘Soft parts: brains’) so that a large crested
animal, possibly further enhanced by colouration, could not go unnoticed
by rivals or potential mates and members of the flock.

Figure 45. Models of a female

and male Pteranodon.

65
Mark explains of rows of improbably large, vertical teeth, simi-
lar to the baleens of a whale. But in contrast to
these, Pterodaustro’s mouth contains hundreds of
Pterodaustro real teeth with enamel, dentin and a pulpa cav-
ity. Each tooth is approximately a third of a mil-
limetre thick! There are so many teeth that they
are arranged together in grooves – parallel to the
edges of the jaw – rather than independently, in
alveoli (tooth sockets). But … there are also loads
of teeth in the upper jaw: small, more or less
spatula-shaped teeth that are not embedded in
the jaw itself but are held in place by supporting
ligaments. And, as if this weren’t strange enough,
there are also ranges of miniscule ‘bones’ – small
tooth pads that are entrenched in the skin – above
each of the teeth. Fascinating, uh? The function
of the teeth in the lower jaw could not be clear-
er: Pterodaustro filtered the water in its quest for
food. You can imagine this process: straining out
All right, with its wingspan of around 2.5 me- seeds, small invertebrates, and suchlike. But, as
tres it is not the world’s largest pterosaur, neither far as I know, it has never been comprehensively
does it have a striking crest like some other pte- investigated how Pterodaustro actually did this.
rosaurs do. No, indeed these are not the things Besides teeth there are another two details of
that make Pterodaustro so remarkable. So why the jaws that need attention. One is that the ex-
is it worthy of attention? It is because it looks tension behind the lower jaw is very robust and
like it has flown into the broom cupboard with curves downward, away from the skull. This sug-
its mouth wide open! Its lower jaw is packed full gests that the muscles that were attached to it (the

66
67
same muscles that you can so clearly see behind that possibly found their food on land. Does this
the jaws of modern crocodiles) were probably mean that all pterosaurs with such a long neck
rather large. This means that Pterodaustro had a did this? Something to look into more closely in
very strong bite at the moment its jaws were al- the future.
most closed. And this is quite rare inasmuch as, in But there is more to the story: Pterodaustro
terms of jaw muscles, pterosaurs in general were was very numerous! There are hundreds of fos-
much better equipped for quick snapping actions sils of this animal and most originate from a
rather than for relatively slow biting techniques. site where they were so numerous that this place
In addition, the animals have unbelievably was named after them: Loma del Pterodaustro in
long jaws that curve upward. Curved jaws are fine Argentina. Probably, if one would be able to time
if you intend to close the whole jaw in one action. travel to the beginning of the Cretaceous and
What this could mean is that Pterodaustro did not would stroll to this prehistoric sweet water basin,
simply wade through water with its mouth open one would see huge flocks feeding in the water,
in the hope of catching food. Instead, this pte- not unlike present-day flamingo’s.
rosaur probably pumped water between its teeth The Pterodaustro fossils represent animals of
with the aid of the muscles at the back of the jaw. various stages of life, from embryo’s to old in-
The curved jaw ensured that the water did not dividuals. Recent research of this flock with all
directly spray out of its mouth but ran along the the diversity in ages gave a good insight in the
teeth at the edges of the jaws. speed of growing of these pterosaurs. Pterodaustro
We do not yet know enough about grew very fast the first two years, just like dino-
Pterodaustro’s physique to explain how they re- saurs, and probably also other pterosaurs, reach-
moved the filtered food from their teeth and trans- ing about half of their final size. From here on-
ported it to their throat, but probably they had a wards, growth decreased, lasting for another three
large tongue by means of which they could press to four years before they reached the final size. In
filtered elements against their palates. The small, contrast to some modern reptiles, such as croco-
spatula-shaped teeth, as well as the tooth pads, diles and tortoises who continue growing their
could have helped in holding the food in posi- entire life, Pterodaustro seems to have had a ‘pre-
tion. Just as with our modern geese and ducks, determined’ size. In other words, they reached a
the food could have been transported backward certain size, after which growth stopped, just like
during successive straining sessions and subse- with us humans. But, and that is the same as for
quently swallowed when it arrived in the throat the recent reptiles just mentioned, they were able
itself. Well, it’s possible … to reproduce before fully grown. And this seems
It is clear that Pterodaustro was kind of a wad- to occur at the age of two, when growth slowed
ing animal with big, wide feet, which were nearly down, because from this moment onwards a
as large as the lower leg. This also seems to indi- change in bone structure can be seen. This sug-
cate that they fed when standing still. Remarkable gests that energy partially went to reproduction,
is also the long neck, similar to other pterosaurs hence less energy for fast growing.

68
The post-cranial skeleton
The post-cranial skeleton (the part behind the skull) of pterosaurs is fully adapted
to flying. The torso is relatively small and tapers toward the rear. The front is broad
and is shaped by the massive shoulder girdle.

Spine
The spine is divided by anatomists into several parts: cervical, dorsal and sacral
vertebrae (including the tail). The neck consists of seven vertebrae. The last one is
sometimes fused with the first dorsals into a notarium (see below). In general, the
neck in the advanced short-tail pterosaurs is long and always much longer than in
the earlier, basal pterosaurs. Elongation of the neck did not happen through de-
veloping additional cervicals but by the elongation of these seven vertebrae (figure
46). Sometimes this is so extreme that one cervical vertebra could reach one metre
in length.
In some large species, the first dorsals are fused with the last cervical into a
notarium (figure 47). This solid construction serves to cope with the forces that
originate from flying. In order to develop an even more powerful construction, the

10 cm

m Figure 46. Elongation

of the neck is obtained by
elongation of each cervical
rather than by adding more.
Here are two examples of
cervical vertebrae. Left is of
Arambourgiania and right of
Coloborhynchus piscator.

c Figure 47. Bottom:

Notarium of a juvenile
Tapejara wellnhoferi: the
last vertebrae (left) or still not 5 cm
entirely fused. he notarium
of Coloborhynchus (top) is
fully fused: even the dorsal
protrusions are fused together.

69
dorsal protrusions of the individual vertebrae are sometimes fused into a strong
ridge, the so-called supraneural spine. Here are situated the articular facets of the
shoulder (scapula). A reduction in size is noticeable towards the back of the spine:
the sacral vertebrae are substantially smaller. All cervical vertebrae have openings
at their sides, pneumatic foramina, to reduce weight. Despite the lesser size of the
dorsals (figure 48), they too have comparable openings, but the vertebrae towards
the rear are more solid. Despite the fact that in the more advanced pterosaurs the
tail is shorter than that to the earlier animals, it can still consist of many vertebrae
(figure 49).

Shoulder girdle
In the large species of the Cretaceous, the shoulder blade (scapula) and the col-
larbone (coracoid) are fused into a single construction, the scapulocoracoid, which
is a semi-circular construction designed to withstand the great forces that devel-
op from flight (figure 51). The coracoid articulates with the breastbone (sternum;

Figure 48. he irst ten dorsal

vertebrae (left lateral view,
seen from left to right). he
irst dorsal is sometimes iden-
tiied as last cervical. he next
two dorsals show the begin-
ning of fusion. he last ones,
however, show incomplete
fusion indicating that the
animal was still young when
it died.
5 cm

Figure 49. Although

the tail in the advanced
Pterodactyloidea-pterosaurs
was short, it nonetheless
consisted of a large number of
vertebrae.
1 cm

70
FOCUS
Tail

The first pterosaurs had a long tail that consisted of many vertebrae. These
were reinforced with long extensions that ran parallel to its length (figure
34). The tail, therefore, could not bend. The reinforcement was to support
a vane at the end of the tail, a feature that is a peculiarity of these early
Triassic pterosaurs. These differed in shape between species and were made
of skin with internal reinforcement, resulting in a permanently spread vane.
It stood vertical relative to the body and served as rudder in flying. In the
later, advanced, pterosaurs the number of tail vertebrae are greatly reduced,
resulting in a short tail (see figure 49). Moreover, the long extensions lack
and the tail was, therefore, flexible.

Figure 50. he tail in

Rhamphorhynchus was long
and could not bend because of
the long rod-like protrusions
along the vertebrae (see igure
34). At the end, they have a
sort of vane of skin that was
orientated at right angle to
the tail proper. he shape of
this vane difered between spe-
cies and acted as rudder.

10 cm

71
Mark explains anchored in coarse bone with a powerful struc-
ture (see figure 7). But the bone of the crest in
Nyctosaurus is smooth and is therefore not a good
Nyctosaurus surface for the attachment of soft tissue.
It is difficult to believe, but this crest was un-
known to palaeontologists for many years. The
first skulls of this animal completely lacked any
crest: no protruding parts, no broken crest edges
… nothing! Ultimately, in 2003, two new fossils
were described with crests, but the rest was wholly
identical to the skulls already known. What could
be the explanation for this? The 2003 animals
were mature animals, whereas the other known
skulls belonged to young animals that were not
yet fully grown. This means that the crest only
began to grow at the moment the pterosaurs be-
came adult. There are very few Nyctosaurus fos-
sils, so we cannot state whether or not there was
Nyctosaurus is one of the oddest pterosaurs we a difference between male and female examples,
know. In which way? Well, first of all it lacks
the first three fingers. Although there was orig-
inally doubt about this, there are now enough
fossils to be certain that this was not the result
of incomplete fossilization. Second, the wings
do not consist of the usual four phalanges, but
three. However, this development is not unique
to Nyctosaurus, but also occurs among another
group of pterosaurs.
No, the most striking feature is the gigan-
tic crest on its head, which can rightly be called
‘bizarre’ even in comparison to Tapejara and
Tupandactylus. In most reconstructions, the crest
is depicted far too modestly, with the backward-
reaching horizontal branch being around one
third of the length of the front vertical one. In
reality, the backward branch was just as long
as the front one! Some people claim that there
was a membrane between the branches, making
the pterosaur a windsurfer. However, no indica-
tions of the existence of such a membrane have
been discovered in the fossils themselves. Crests
made of membrane and soft tissue are normally

72
as is also the case with Pteranodon (see ‘Mark this. In such cases, the crest would stick out of
explains: Pteranodon’, pp. 92-95. The fact that the water. If a whole flock did that, this would be
the crest only began to grow when the animals one of the most absurd scenes in nature.
reached adulthood suggests that it was not func- This gets you thinking … Perhaps, just as is
tional but was instead linked to the behaviour of the case with gannets feeding, these crests are ‘sig-
the animals. nals’ to inform others: ‘Look, you should be here,
When I created the figure, I thought of an here is food!’ And with the rear part of the crest
interesting point. Many modern seabirds obtain always visible, even if the animal has its head un-
food by ‘surface feeding’. In other words, they der water, you do not need to do more to pass
float on the water and dip their heads into the wa- on the info to your fellow creatures. Of course,
ter now and again to grab a fish or something else only adult animals could give these signals but,
that is edible. It would not surprise me – in view with gannets, it is also only the adult birds that
of the variation in food-gathering among seabirds have snow-white plumage. So? It is no more than
and also of the crests that do not allow many oth- speculation and cannot be verified … but it is an
er alternatives – if Nyctosaurus also behaved like interesting idea, isn’t it?

73
figure 52). This bone differs markedly between various groups of pterosaurs, but in
most species covers the thorax. The sternum articulates through a special joint with
the shoulder girdle. Moreover, it has special ribs that articulate with the common
ribs: they are a kind of intermediate rib.

Pelvis
Compared to the shoulder girdle the pelvis is far less robust and strong (figure 53).
At either side of the sacral vertebrae are the illia: these articulate with the ischium
and pubis. In pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous the ischium and pubis are fused

m Figure 51. he shoulder in

Cretaceous pterosaurs was a
closed ring: above the nota-
rium, at the sides the fused
scapula and coracoid (scapu-
locoracoid) and below the
breastbone (sternum). here
are big attachment areas
for the well-developed light
muscles.

b Figure 52. he breastbone

(sternum) difered in shape
but always covered the body
nearly entirely. Both breast-
bones are here seen from
5 cm below.

74
Figue 53. Below: he
fully grown pelvis of
Coloborhynchus spielbergi
(Cretaceous, Brazil) seen from
behind and from the side.
Top: he pelvis and the hind
leg of a Pterodactylus-species
(Jura, Germany) seen from
above.

10 cm

into one plate, the ischiopubis, as is clearly visible in the ‘Leiden’ specimen of
Coloborhynchus spielbergi (see figure 53). In some cases, the fusing is so great that a
more or less massive construction exists. The pre-pubes, small bones that support
the intestines, point diagonally forward and downwards. These small bones are of-
ten lost during fossilisation because they are not fused to the pubis but are attached
with ligaments. The pelvis is an important part of the skeleton in identifying the
sex of the animal: because females have to lay eggs, the pelvis is constructed differ-
ently than in male animals.

5 cm Hind legs

Figure 54. he thighbone seen The hind legs in Triassic and early Jurassic pterosaurs are much more strongly de-
from the front and from the veloped than in more advanced Cretaceous animals. The socket for the thighbone
side. Note the angle of the (femur) (figure 54) is directed slightly upwards (see figure 53) and because the head
head. he hind legs are less of the thighbone makes an angle relative to the shaft, the legs in most pterosaurs are
strongly developed than the not straight under the body but are inclined slightly outwards (see ‘Mark explains:
front limbs (compare with
igure 58).

75
Dsungaripterus’, pp. 24-25). This position is stronger among the basal pterosaurs;
with the advanced Cretaceous examples, such as Quetzalcoatlus, the legs are situat-
ed under the body. The thighbone itself is rather straight and slim, especially when
compared with the front limbs. The shin- and calfbone (tibia and fibula) are longer
than the thighbone. Often in the Cretaceous pterosaurs, the fibula is lacking. The
ankle is a simple hinge joint (figure 55) and is built in such a way that pterosaurs
walked with their feet flat on the ground – a plantigrade gait (figure 56). The toes
have claws (figure 57).

Wing
The most characteristic part of a pterosaur skeleton – and also the most unique –
is the development of the front limbs into wings. As previously explained, the
shoulder girdle articulates with the notarium and the coracoid to the downwards
and forwards projecting part of the breastbone (see figure 51). At the side of the
articulation of the scapula and the coracoid is an articular surface for the strongly
developed upper arm bone (humerus; figure 58). This bone is relatively short and
5 cm
thick and has a large, downwards and forwards projecting process for the attach-
ment of strong flight muscles (see figure 51). The bones of the lower arm, the ulna Figure 55. he ankle is a
and the radius, are always longer than the upper arm bone. The ulna is the strong- simple joint, the ifth toe in
est of the two; the radius lies close to the ulna (figure 59). The articulation of the the later ‘short-tail pterosaurs’
lower arm with the upper arm is such that the lower arm could only move in one is reduced to a little stub. In
the earlier ‘long-tail ptero-
saurs’ this toe is elongated to
support the skin between the
legs (which is split in the later
pterosaurs).

Figure 56. Pterosaurs were

plantigrade, which means
that they walked on their
soles rather than on their toes.
Here a Pterodactylus an-
tiquus, an abundant species
from the Jura of Solnhofen,
Germany is shown.

76
Figure 57. he claws of the
feet are clearly visible in this
beautiful fossil. For a photo-
graph of the hand see igure
63. 1 cm

direction, due to which, when the wing is folded, the metacarpals, and consequent-
ly the wingfinger, point backwards and upwards (see also below). In other words,
the wings of a pterosaur were, as in birds, automatically folded.
The so-called pteroïd is a bone, which is unique to pterosaurs (figure 60). This
flat, tapering bone articulates with the wrist and points forward and toward the
body. It supported the front wing membrane that ran from the wrist to the neck.
The wrist bones in pterosaurs differ markedly from those in humans (figure 61)
in that they had only one carpal bone that articulated with the ulna as well as the
radius, followed by another bone that articulated with all the metacarpals.
c Left to right::

Figure 58. he upper arm

bone (humerus), seen from
the back, was a strong bone
with a large protruding part 1 cm
for the attachment of the
powerful light muscles (see
igure 51). Left a humerus of
a Coloborhynchus-species;
right the humerus of a tooth-
less species. Note the diferent
shape of the protrusions.

Figure 59. he ulna is the

strongest of the two bones of
the lower arm: the radius lay
close to the ulna.

Figure 60. he pteroïd is

a bone that only occurs in
the pterosaur skeleton. It
served to support the mem-
brane to the front of the
wing. Top: he pteroïd
of a Coloborhynchus-
species. Bottom: Arrow
points to the pteroïd of a 5 cm 5 cm
Pterodactylus-species.
77
There are only four metacarpals of which three are thin and fragile and
supported the short fingers with claws (figure 63); the bone that supports the
wingfinger is the most strongly developed (figure 64). The metacarpals in the
early basal pterosaurs are short (see figure 50) whereas they are long in the
advanced pterosaurs. The wingfinger is a specific adjustment for flight and is
nothing else than the extremely elongated and strongly developed phalanges of
the fourth finger of the hand (see figure 37 and the skeleton in ‘Mark explains:
Dsungaripterus’, pp. 24-25). The wingfinger largely determined the wingspan
of the animal. The wing, when folded, ran along the body upwards and towards
the back (see above and figure 64&65). Figure 61. he wrist of an
Ornithocheirid pterosaur.
Fossils of bones are rare, but fossilisation of the soft parts of an organism almost
never occurs. There are only a few examples of pterosaur fossils that can tell
us anything about skin or intestines and by far the majority of these are of the
skin and flight membranes. There are, however, examples of fossilised impres-
sions left by the intestines of dinosaurs (most famously Scipionyx) but not of
pterosaurs.

5 cm

m Figure 62. he metacar-

pal that articulates with the
winginger was much more
strongly developed than the
other metacarpals.

b Figue 63. he claws of the

5 cm hand were much smaller than
those of the feet (compare
with igure 57).

78
10 cm

Figure 64. An un-prepared

fossil. he fossil was brought
to he Netherlands by the
Natural History Museum
Rotterdam for preparation of
the bones, which was profes-
sionally done by Cor Strang.
A preliminary scientiic
description was published in
2003. See also igure 38. he
life-size model was made by
Erwin Meerman.

79
Figure 65. In rest the wing-
inger was directed upwards
along the body.

FOCUS
Adaptations of
the skeleton for flight

The pterosaur skeleton is unique and many of its peculiarities correlate with
its ability to fly (see figure 37). One is the light construction of the skeleton.
Not only are the walls of the bones extremely thin (sometimes less than 1
mm; figure 66, see also figure 41), but they are also punctuated with holes
(so-called pneumatic foramina) which are linked with a system of airsacks
in the bones. This construction is much comparable to that in birds, which
also have similar airsacks in their bones. Airsacks not only make the skeleton
lighter but they also point to a specialised breathing apparatus. The presence
of a honeycomb structure or thin struts in the bones gives them the neces-
sary strength. This construction did not necessarily reduce the weight of the
skeleton, but did permit it to stand up to the forces that result from flight
and the carrying of the relatively large skull.

2 cm
1 cm
Figure 66. Pterosaur-bones were hollow and had thin walls. Inside, they were
reinforced with bony struts or a honeycomb structure.

80
Mark explains explains: Quetzalcoatlus’, pp. 41-45), or that they
seized fish from the water while in flight, an idea
that dominated popular and scientific literature
Anhanguera for years. Fortunately, the general picture is now
beginning to change a little.
But even if pterosaurs are imagined much too
often as flying fishers, this does not mean that there
were no animals whatsoever that lived this way.
Take Anhanguera, for example, a pterosaur from
the Early Cretaceous of Brazil (see figures 40 and
64). There is much taxonomic debate about this
taxon and a few others including Coloborhynchus
and Criorhynchus, but nevertheless there are clear
differences (figure 67). They are all closely related
to one another. The group to which they belong
spread across the whole world: Anhanguera fossils
have even been found on Antarctica! Anhanguera
and its fellows are an invariable feature of every
Early to Middle Cretaceous collection of fossils
As mentioned, the idea that pterosaurs were some- of vertebrate flying animals, and occur in living
thing like Cretaceous seabirds is a stubborn pic- environments that vary from deep inland to close
ture that arose due to the fact that pterosaur fos- by the sea.
sils were originally found in marine sediments (see Thus, this group of pterosaurs is a muddle in
‘Where did pterosaurs live?’). The consequence terms of classification, and attempts are repeated-
was that people believed that there was very little ly made to create more clarity. However, new re-
diversity. In addition, it was commonly accepted sults are not accepted by everyone – this is almost
that the animals were unable to do anything at all always the case in all fields of science. Their anat-
on the ground. Generations of palaeontologists omy is known from very small fragments (see fig-
concluded that pterosaurs lived on fish that they ure 4), as well as from the most surprisingly well-
caught by ploughing through the water with their preserved, three-dimensional, nearly complete
lower jaw, like present-day skimmers (see ‘Mark skeletons (of which only the skull is depicted in

Figure 67. Anhanguera, Coloborhynchus and Criorhynchus, three closely related species.

81
figure 40). Because these pterosaurs were, suppos- front. The small bodies and pretty feeble hind
edly, among the best-known prehistoric animals, legs indicate that they were exceptionally light-
it seems as if they possess the ‘standard’ (if such a weight in comparison to their size, and that their
thing exists at all) pterosaur skeleton. But if you efficient wing shape probably made them very
compare it to other large groups of pterosaurs, good flyers. Long, narrow wings are extremely
you can see that they deviated considerably. They suitable for soaring (compare to long-distance
had high shoulder joints, strange, angular upper gliding birds such as the albatross); these chaps
arms with an oddly curved protrusion for the at- could probably travel long distances without too
tachment of the flight muscles, robust wrists, ab- many efforts. Their high shoulders were very use-
normally long wing phalanges, short hind legs, ful for this, as they helped to obtain stability in
flexible, strong necks and small bodies. In other the air. In contrast, they would have been rath-
words, if we hadn’t known these animals so well er awkward on the ground, because their hind
due to the many fossils available, we would have legs were much shorter than their front limbs.
taken them to be the most remarkable pterosaurs! Nevertheless, the image of clumsy gawks seems
All these anatomical features were not present somewhat exaggerated. Moreover, their long
just for the show, of course, but were adaptations wings would have made taking off rather trou-
to a lifestyle more airborne than that of all other blesome because they would have needed speed
pterosaurs. for this – and, of course, enough space to beat
The entire skeleton design is no more than their extended wings. In other words, the wings
two long, narrow wings with a large head at the suggest that these pterosaurs were more at home

A young skimmer. Note the thin, sharp edge of the lower jaw.

82
flying in free space, where they could make full pose. This is quite logical for an animal that at-
use of the wind and other airflows. However, they tempts to keep the distance between its body and
could probably not make much use of thermal the water surface as large as possible in order to
columns because their wings were too narrow; minimize the chance of crashing down into the
you need broad wings for this. water. The extension of the jaw is a good way of
Being able to fly and soar does not mean by realizing this.
definition that you never come to land to search An animal in flight will always go faster than
for food. Some present-day birds that are ex- its prey underwater, so its jaws will be thrust
tremely well adapted to gliding, such as albatros- downward and backward when it inserts its snout
ses and fulmars – do not eat during their flights into the water to grab its prey. A strong flexible
but have no hesitation in landing on water or on neck such as that of Anhanguera is a precondi-
land. They are perfectly capable of taking off once tion for this type of fishing. Pterosaurs that dip
again, and it seems not unlikely that Anhanguera their jaws into the water while in flight must neu-
and its companions may have done this too. tralize the forces that are exerted upon their skull
But some species display an adaptation that when they withdraw their jaws from the water.
indicates feeding without landing. Anhanguera And that takes a lot of strength. Therefore they
and its fellows have teeth of varying size that pro- must have had very strong neck muscles to sud-
trude from the jaw at every conceivable angle. denly extract their jaws, and their prey, against
The front teeth are long, curved teeth that dove- the thrust of all acting forces. In fossils, it is only
tail together and are thus extremely suited to grab possible to determine the presence of such mus-
and hold a moving, slippery prey, such as a writh- cles by looking for relatively swollen and complex
ing fish. The teeth toward the back of the jaw are front neck vertebrae. In contrast to most ptero-
much smaller and there are bigger gaps between saurs, Anhanguera do exhibit this feature. Some
them (see figure 40). These teeth have a different animals related to Anhanguera have smaller front
function: they ensure that the food is transported neck vertebrae, which means that they did not
further toward the throat. The lack of large teeth catch fish in the same way as Anhanguera did, de-
at the back of the jaw to grab the prey indicates spite the fact that their life was primarily spent
that only the front teeth were used for that pur- in the air.

83
84
Soft parts

Muscles
The attachment of muscles by ligaments leaves scars on the bones. Here, the sur-
face of the bone is rough, or has ridges or still bigger protrusions and from these
palaeontologists gain an impression of the muscles and how strong they were. The
upper arm bone is a good example (figure 58): here the big process is meant for the
attachment of the powerful flight muscles (see figure 51). Other clear scars can be
seen on the skull and lower jaw. These give an idea of the power with which the ani-
mal could close its jaws and gives indirect evidence of the creature’s way of life. In
pterosaurs that could catch fish whilst flying, the muscles to close the lower jaw are
extremely strongly developed (see also ‘Mark explains: Anhanguer’, pp. 81-83).

Brains
Remarkably we know quite a lot about the pterosaur brain, despite the fact that
they cannot fossilise. The brain consists for the most part of water and is, therefore,
almost the first element of a body to decay when an organism dies. Sometimes,
however, the brain cavity fills with sediments that fossilise, yielding a perfect im-
pression of the cavity: a brain cast (endocast). There are also other means by which
palaeontologists can examine the shape and capacity of the brain, notably by scan-
ning using Computed Tomography (see figure 11). An object, in this case the skull,
is digitally cut into slices from which the shape of the brain (and the skull) can
be reconstructed with computer software and, if desired, be physically reproduced
in three-dimensions by rapid prototyping or similar means. The brains of the ad-
vanced pterosaurs of the Cretaceous looked much like those of modern birds. The

c Figure 68. he
light membrane of this
Rhamphorhynchus muen-
steri is so perfectly preserved
that the internal reinforce-
ment of ibrous tissue (ac-
tinoibrils) still could be
mapped. his fossil is known
as the ‘Zittel wing’, named
after the scientist Karl Alfred
von Zittel (1839-1904) who
described the fossil in 1882.
10 cm

85
FOCUS
Flight membranes and skin

The most important part of the flight membrane was that of the wing (cheiropatagium; figures 6 and
68), but such membranes were fairly small. In contrast to the wings of bats which are supported by the
elongated fingers of the entire hand (see figure 37) the flight membranes of pterosaurs were internally
reinforced by thick fibres of tissue (actinofibrillen) that ran parallel to the wingfinger. At the front of the
wing was another membrane (propatagium), which was supported by a bone unique to pterosaurs, the
pteroïd (see page 77). There is much discussion as to the shape of the flight membranes, but despite per-
fect skin impressions, we still do not know exactly how they looked. The membrane that forms the wing
almost certainly extended in a large curve to the ankles (figure 69). It is clear, however, that the shape
of the flight membrane differed among the various species. For example, that in Quetzalcoatlus was very
small compared to Coloborhynchus. In the early forms, a membrane is also visible between the hind legs
(cruropatagium) but in the later forms this membrane is split. In addition, feet have been found with skin
between the toes and we also have impressions of three short fingers with skin. Throat pouches (figure
70), cushions on the feet (figure 71) and webbed feet are also known.

Figure 69. he light mem-

brane between the front and
hind limbs is clearly visible in
this fossil.
10 cm

86
5 cm 5 cm
m Figure 70. hroat pouches
are attested in some pte-
rosaurs, as seen here in a areas that are responsible for sight are well-developed, but not those for smell. It
specimen from Solnhofen, has been known for some time that the areas responsible for reflexes (such as bal-
Germany.
ance and posture) were well-developed, but recent research has shown that the
c Figure 71. he foot of an
organ that was responsible for balance was extraordinarily large. The shape of the
Azhdarchidea-species (Early brains seems, however, to exclude complex social behaviour.
Cretaceous, Brazil). Clearly
visible are the soles under the
heel.

Figure 72. he brain of

the Cretaceous pterosaur
Anhanguera santanae (seen
from the side, from above and
from below). hey are clearly
reptilian but also compare
well with the brains in birds
- these are indicated in the
illustration. Areas that are
responsible for smell are badly
developed, but those for sight
are well-developed. hat the
parts of the brain responsible
for relexes was well-devel-
oped has been long known but
recent research shows that the
part responsible for balance
was exceptionally large.

87
FOCUS
Body cover

The skin of a pterosaur looked a bit like human skin and sported a remark-
able feature for reptiles, namely hair. This hair did not have a same origin
as ours or that of other mammals and is not comparable. It does, however,
compare with the covering seen in some dinosaurs although the latter might
be better compared with feathers. The ‘hairs’ of a pterosaur do not originate
from deep in the skin, but from its surface. Along with a practical function
such as the regulation of body temperature or of decreasing friction between
air and skin during flight, it is not unreasonable to assume that the ‘fur’ or
‘fuzz’ differed in texture and colour for better recognition and/or to impress
potential mates.

88
Locomotion
Terrestrial
Ongoing discussions about terrestrial locomotion focus on how exactly pterosaurs
walked on all fours. Palaeontologists have long known that pterosaurs walked on
the sole of their feet (plantigrade) rather than on their toes (digitigrade) but in re-
cent years additional evidence has come to light about exactly how they did this. It
was thought that pterosaurs were bipedal, thus more or less upright, but nowadays
it is generally accepted that they were in fact quadrupedal. On land the wing point-
ed upwards and backwards along the body. They must have been rather adept, al-
though the basal pterosaurs far less so because of the membrane between their legs
and the long, rigid tail (see ‘Mark explains: Dimorphodon’, pp. 19-21). Moreover,
the body of these early pterosaurs were much closer to the ground because of the
different ratio and position of the bones of the limbs, which meant that the body
was orientated much more horizontally rather than vertically.

Flying
The origin of pterosaurs and also of active flight is largely a matter of theory. There
are no fossils found (or at least recognised) of their ancestors. As suggested above
pterosaur’s ancestors were most probably tree-dwellers who in the course of evolu-
tion developed a flight membrane as an adaptation toward their habit of jumping
between trees. This gradually increased so permitting soaring for which a large sur-
face area is needed (see figure 33).
The different shapes of the wings and flight membranes, and indeed the range
of size of the animals, must have resulted in a wide variety of flying behaviours. It
is generally assumed that the smaller species were active flappers whereas the big-
ger species, with wingspans of six metres or more, specialised in soaring and so
were able to cover long distances. Taking off from the ground does not seem to
have been a problem because the velocity needed was very low and even the big-
gest pterosaurs, albeit less easily, must have been able to take to the air after a short
sprint.

89
Diversity

Over 200 years of collecting pterosaur fossils has resulted in over 60 different gen-
era amounting to well over 100 species. Exact numbers differ, as is usual in pal-
aeontology, as the validity of different species is sometimes unclear due to the
fragmentary nature of many of the remains provoking difference of insight among
scholars. About half of the species have been described over the last 30 years. This
sudden increase is partially due to the strong increase in palaeontological research,
as mentioned, but also due to the discovery of new sites, such as those in Brazil
and China.

90
Lifestyle
The manner of living adopted by pterosaurs differed according to species, just as
the lives and habits of different species of bird differ. It was long believed that the
majority of the known species were fish-eaters (piscivorous), but modern research
has repeatedly shown that not all of these species ate fish and different species evi-
dently occupied their own particular niches. Nonetheless, most fossils are found in
layers that are either marine in nature or closely related to it and many pterosaurs
did have a fish diet. However, this bias toward marine environments seems to be
because the chance of fossilisation in a watery environment is much greater since a
corpse could be covered quickly by sediment and so protected it from scavenging.
Moreover, many of these marine environments were extremely toxic, prohibiting
any form of life in the deeper water. Whilst fossils tend to come from these marine
locations this does not mean that there were no pterosaurs living on land.

Reproduction
As discussed, many pterosaurs had crests, which were probably related to courtship
and/or mating: used to impress females and to scare off other males. More informa-
tion on this topic can be found in the ‘Mark explains’ text about Pteranodon (pp.
92-95).
From the very beginning, scientists assumed that pterosaurs laid eggs (figure
73). The reasoning was that they were reptiles and all reptiles were egg-bearing.
However, although dinosaur eggs were known, none were discovered that could
be attributed to pterosaurs. This led palaeontologists to theorise that perhaps they
were ovoviviparous – retaining the eggs in the body until they are ready to hatch –
in the same way as do present-day snakes. The first pterosaur eggs were discovered
only in the 21st century and, ironically, three at almost the same time: two from
China and one from Argentina. Recently, a further, extremely rare find was report-
ed: a fossilised pterosaur with an egg still inside its body. The eggs had a soft shell,
perhaps comparable to the leathery covering of the eggs of modern snakes. Study
of the bones of the embryos suggests that the baby-pterosaurs were nidifugous, that
is: as soon as they hatched they were able to fly, though this may not have been the
case for all species. Despite the rarity of eggs we do have a relatively large numbers
of fossils of immature animals and even of animals that were newly hatched. These
mostly belong to the Jurassic period (see figures 6 and 17).

Food
Most pterosaurs were piscivorous, and although this picture has been nuanced in
recent years, it remains true, as explained, that most known species ate fish or other
marine/aquatic animals. There are, however, many species that had other dietary
requirements (figure 74), such as the early pterosaur Anurognathus (see figure 26),
Figure 73. Fossilised pterosaur
eggs have been found only
recently in Argentina and
China.

91
Mark explains sediments of Kansas, USA, in 1870 by expeditions
under the leadership of the renowned American
palaeontologist Othniel Marsh (see figure 29).
Pteranodon Down to the present-day, more than 1000 indi-
viduals of this animal have been found and we
thus have sufficient material to study and to ob-
tain a reasonably good picture of its anatomy and
proportions. And that occurred through a man-
ner of fossilisation that was very different from
that of some Cretaceous pterosaurs from Brazil:
Pteranodon fossils are as flat as a pancake! Besides
the enormous toothless jaws and the striking crest,
Pteranodon gained fame as the first true giant of
the skies – an animal that could compete with
the wingspans of the newly developed aeroplanes
(we are talking of more than 100 years ago). In
terms of size, they caused the famous pterosaurs
from the English Wealden sediments to pale in
comparison. Pteranodon’s size has received much
For years, the size of some pterosaurs has been attention from many researchers engaged in avia-
rather overestimated. For instance, the wingspan tion, in order to find out how such an oversized
of Quetzalcoatlus was estimated at more than 20 animal was able to fly. Pteranodon was an ultra-
metres, and a few years ago there were even ru- efficient, dynamic glider that cruised the airways
mours about a pterosaur with a wingspan of 25 above the Western Interior Seaway – the sea, hun-
metres! But the wingspan of Quetzalcoatlus was dreds of kilometres in length that divided North
probably no more than 10 metres (which is still America in two at the time. Due to the discovery
pretty big!), and the traces on which a calculated of a well-preserved food pellet, we know that it
wingspan of 25 metres was based have turned out lived from relatively small fish; therefore, this one
to be false. Even the wingspan of everyone’s fa- time, we have a legitimate mirroring of lifestyle
vourite pterosaur, Pteranodon, was overestimated between pterosaurs and seabirds (see also ‘Mark
at a given moment. A robust skull that belonged explains: Anhanguera’, pp. 81-83). At last!
to an older type of Pteranodon, the one with the All right, let’s get back to the size. The so-
tapering crest, was regarded as belonging to a called ‘fact’ that Pteranodon was a giant with a
Pteranodon with a wingspan of approximately 10 wingspan of seven metres has permeated more
metres. However, this species, Pteranodon stern- or less every popular book (and even some scien-
bergi, with a wingspan of around six or seven tific ones!), so why has doubt now arisen? Chris
metres, was probably similar in size to the other Bennett is the person who can help us: he is re-
species of Pteranodon. The point is, Pteranodon sponsible for the situation that we can now draw
was not so very large … On the contrary, most a picture based on the most recent research. Chris
of them were actually considerably smaller than has roamed all over the world to study, measure
people thought, and the outline reveals a surpris- and identify every Pteranodon fossil he could find.
ing amount of details about the lifestyle of the His unique, exhaustive analysis revealed a surpris-
long-extinct animal … ing result: all examples of Pteranodon could be
We know of Pteranodon for more than a cen- divided into two groups. The distinction between
tury. The first fossils were found in the chalk these two groups is primarily based on difference

92
in size. The largest group, containing 66% of study of the bone structure shows that almost all
all examples, consists of the smallest individu- the fossils were adult or near adult at the time of
als with a wingspan of approximately four metres death. The evidence is closing…
maximum. Although this is larger than any mod- But the research revealed that there are even
ern bird, for a pterosaur, and certainly a pterosaur more details that distinguish these groups from
from the Late Cretaceous era – where the size of one another: the smaller animals have a much
the largest pterosaurs went right through the roof shorter crest than the larger animals, where these
– four metres is hardly even average. The other crests could grow just as long as the jaw itself. The
34% of the fossils have wingspans of between six tip of the jaw follows a similar pattern. The true
and seven metres. The difference could possibly big shots developed upper jaws that terminate in
be explained by the fact that the animals were blunt points, with an overbite of the upper jaw.
in different stages of their lifespan. However, a But with the smaller Pteranodon the length of the

93
upper and lower jaw is much more equal. There bits. With the females, this is different: they have
are also differences in the rest of the skeleton: seen to lay eggs and therefore must have a wider pelvic
relatively, the smaller examples have larger pel- canal in order to be able to expel the egg. In the
vic canals. These differences are less pronounced small fossils we see the relatively wide opening of
among immature animals. the pelvic canal and therefore we can assume that
With the exception of the differences in the large Pteranodon fossils are those of the males
headgear and the pelvic canal, the skeletons of and the smaller ones, females. Once we have ac-
the two groups are identical. You could explain cepted this we can make a comparison with mod-
this by thinking that these differences involved ern animals and we can perhaps learn more about
some kind of specialisation of the animals. But an Pteranodon’s urge to mate, based on the ‘patterns’
explanation that is much more plausible is that of difference between males and females in mod-
we are dealing with the difference between males ern animals.
and females – in other words, they are sexually Let’s look at the males first. What makes a
dimorphic, meaning that there are visible differ- Pteranodon a male Pteranodon? Apparently a large
ences in appearance between males and females. body and striking head ornamentation. It turns
I find everything about this pterosaur really out that there is much variation in shape and size
cool. It’s absolutely great that we have sufficient of the crest and the points of the jaw: some males
data to be certain that Pteranodon is sexually di- have straight crests whereas others have crescent-
morphic! In order to establish this, we have to ex- shaped crests. Some jaws end in a sharp point,
amine their reproductive system. Males don’t have while others are blunt to a greater or lesser de-
very much to do in the reproduction process… In gree. The fact that immature animals do not have
fact, our ‘tools’ only require very little muscle at- crests indicates that these crests were only impor-
tachment. This means that the male Pteranodon tant in the lives of adult animals. And it seems
only needs a narrow pelvic canal to accommodate evident that they played a role in mating: a type
the last remnants of its intestines and a few other of behaviour only applicable to adults. Males

94
would be able to show off their crests and jaws the mating habits of animals that became extinct
in competition for female attention. If we assume more than 80 million years ago is quite amazing,
that the behaviour of these extinct animals – with don’t you think?
regard to reproduction – is comparable to that of I hope that my figure of Pteranodon sternbergi
modern animals, the enormous size of the head- and his harem will help explain the above-men-
gear demonstrates a short but very intensive pe- tioned points. Everything about the males indi-
riod of male rivalry for the favours of the female. cates competition with the other males. Not only
But would we (well, I personally in any case) are they much larger than the more sedate-look-
go as far as to speculate that their relatively ro- ing females (including their one-metre-long ro-
bust physical proportions could be an indica- bust skull) but they also have a large crest in the
tion of physical competition? In other words, the hope of surpassing their rivals. Please note that,
males probably clashed quite vehemently now when standing erect, the male would have been
and again. This may explain some of the wounds much larger than shown here. In the figure, he is
that we find in some of the Pteranodon fossils. engaged in the process of getting to his feet in the
The males may have been great philander- same way as mammals with long limbs do – push-
ers. Animals that are strongly dimorphic have the ing himself upward with the front limbs to bal-
tendency to be polygamous: they enjoy entering ance on the hind legs. I have opted for an older
into relationships with different partners. We can animal because I wished to show that he would
imagine our Pteranodon males fighting to win be the last individual you might want to chal-
harems of females, or continually battling one lenge for a fight. He is not getting up to run away
another until a nice girl comes along with whom from the storm approaching from the right, but
they have a fleeting affair, after which the female to demonstrate who is really the boss here.
flies off to generate and lay eggs, leaving the men The females have a smaller skull that is much
to fight for the favours of the next female. less robust. They were probably lighter in colour
In contrast, the females have it relatively than the males, which harmonizes with the func-
easy. With polygamous males, who are constantly tional restrictions of the seabird-like life. I would
fighting for the favours of the females, they only like to point out one more detail: there were no
need to wait for the winner and thus for the high- cliffs along this part of the coast of the Western
est quality sperm. That is why their smaller bod- Interior Seaway. It is often claimed that cliffs were
ies lack decoration. essential to enable pterosaurs to take off and,
Much of this picture borders on speculation, ironically enough, studies of Pteranodon are of-
but it is an educated guess and based on reliable ten quoted to support such claims. But, consider
observations of modern animals. Of course, we it … there is absolutely no indication that dem-
can never be absolutely sure about our interpre- onstrate the existence of cliffs in this part of the
tation. But the fact that we have actually been world at that time (at least, not on the eastern
able to gather so much information – by means shore), so that argument in favour of taking off
of palaeontology – that we can speculate about from cliffs is not particularly strong.

95
which is evidenced by the broad jaws full with small teeth. Tapejara wellnhoferi (fig-
ure 75) whose muzzle looked much like the bill of a parrot, was probably vegetar-
ian and lived on fruits and seeds (and occasionally a lost lizard?, see ‘Mark explains:
Tapejara’, pp. 114-115). Sinopterus dongi (see ‘Mark explains: Sinopterus’, pp. 104-
106) might have been fruitivorous. Recent research on the giant Quetzalcoatlus
suggests that these animals had small land animals as part of their diet, rather like
modern storks.

Figure 74. Unidentifed

stomach contents of a small
pterosaur.

b Figure 75. Tapejara

wellnhoferi was probably a
seed-eater.

c Figure 76. Quetzalcoatlus

10 cm
has caught a baby-dinosaur.

96
97
Catching fish can be done in several ways. A big group of pterosaurs, referred
to by some palaeontologists as Ornithocheiridea and by others as Anhangueridea,
had teeth that were well adapted to catch the slippery, wriggling fish out of the wa-
ter whilst in flight (see ‘Mark explains: Anhanguera’, pp. 81-83).
For the edentulous species (Thalassodromeus; figure 77), another technique has
been suggested, namely ploughing through the water whilst in flight, rather like
modern-day skimmers (see ‘Mark explains: Quetzalcoatlus’, pp. 41-45), but there
is much debate about this very specialised way of fishing as it is relatively inef-
ficient and requires many special adaptations. Moreover, Thalassodromeus was an
enormous pterosaur with a huge skull, a major disadvantage for fishing. This man-
ner of fishing has also been suggested for several other, smaller, species such as
Rhamphorhychus that had both razor sharp jaws (to enable them to easily plough
through the water) as well as large teeth.

…and becoming food

Without doubt there were opportunistic scavengers that fed on the carcasses of pte-
rosaurs (figure 78), but this activity is rarely visible in the fossil record. But there
are some clues that pterosaurs were eaten by other animals.
A remarkable find from Solnhofen, Germany, shows a pterosaur that has been
eaten, digested and the remains spit out. A pellet consists of a partially digested
Rhamphorhynchus, whose small bones suggest that it was not very old when it was

Figure 77. halassodromeus

sethi, erroneously named after
the Egyptian god Seth be-
cause of the shape of the crest
(which looks like the crown
of the god Amun rather than
that of Seth). See also igure
31.

98
m c Figure 78. Like all
animals pterosaurs eventually
died. Doubtless scavengers
feasted on their carcasses.

99
FOCUS
Steneosaur

Figure 79 shows an ocean dwelling Steneosaur-crocodile that lived in the

Solnhofen lagoon. Superbly preserved specimens are known of up to four
metres long with jaws and teeth that suggest that they were piscivorous. But
although fish was their main prey, it is not unreasonable to assume that if the
opportunity arose they would seize a bird, mammal or pterosaur. To catch a
small, agile pterosaur would not be easy but a quick ambush from the deep,
dark waters might catch a pterosaur unawares. The indigestible parts might
then be disgorged as a pellet which preserved as a valuable fossil.

Figure 79. Steneosaurus seizing a Rhamphorhynchus.

100
FOCUS
Irritator

It is a fact that the tooth of Irritator is embedded in a pterosaur cervical,

but can we say anything about how this happened? There are only two logi-
cal possibilities: the Irritator caught the living animal and killed it or found
the dead animal and ate it. Unfortunately, the single tooth cannot tell us
which of the two scenarios is correct, although the scavenging theory is pre-
ferred. But modern predators, be they cats or crocodiles, kill flying animals
whenever there is an opportunity. So why should this not be equally true of
Irritator? It may not have been easy because flight is a rapid form of escape
but if ambushed or sick, the pterosaur would be easier prey. In figure 80
an Irritator challengeri hunts a Brasileodactylus, a species closely related to
Anhanguera (see ‘Mark explains: Anhanguera’, pp. 81-83). The scene is set
about 110 million years ago at the edge of a lagoon that we now know as the
Santana Formation in northeast Brazil (see above).

Figure 80. Hunting Irritator.

101
eaten. We do not know whether the animal was already dead when eaten or had
been predated. Equally unknown is what kind of animal ate the pterosaur, al-
though it has been suggested hat it may have been a large fish or crocodile (figure
79). In 2012 a publication came out that shows a large fish with a pterosaur as prey:
clearly, something went horribly wrong as both died ‘in the act’.
There are other clues to suggest that pterosaurs were themselves preyed upon.
Three cervicals of a pterosaur still had a tooth of Irritator, a predatory dinosaur,
embedded in them and prove without a doubt that these dinosaurs occasionally
preyed on pterosaurs. The absence of chemical erosion on the cervical tells us that
this part of the neck had only been swallowed by the predator before it too met its
end, and as a result its stomach acids had had little chance to corrode the bone.

Sick and cured

Like all animals, pterosaurs could become sick or suffer wounds. There are several
examples of animals with serious wounds and infections, which they survived. A 5 cm
good example is the Tokyo-specimen of Coloborhynchus that survived a broken rib
(figure 81), but which also had two severe infections of the lower jaw and skull
(figure 82), as evidenced by distortion of the bone. It was suggested that these in-
fections must have caused the death of the creature.
A rather different case is presented by Ludodactylus (figure 83). This unfortu-
nate animal caught a sharp tree leaf between the two branches of the lower jaw.
The scratch marks at the end of it shows that the animal tried to get rid of it, but
without success. The leaf prevented the creature from feeding and/or the wound
became infected. Another example is a pterosaur that made a mis-judged landing,
crushing its jaws so seriously that it died from its injuries (figure 84).

1 cm

m Figure 81. Many fossils

show wounds. hese broken
ribs of Coloborhynchus pis-
cator healed.

b Figure 82. Besides the

broken ribs in igure 81, the
animal also sufered from in-
fected bones in the lower jaw
and skull. Possibly this caused
5 cm his premature death.

102
Figure 83. his special fossil
is of Ludodactylus sibbicki.
he animal died because the
leaf of a woody plant, compa-
rable to our yucca or agave,
became stuck between the two
branches of the lower jaw.
Because of the leaf, that ran
along the tongue, the ani-
mal was not able to eat. he
frayed end of the leaf sadly in-
dicates that the animal tried
to remove the leaf.

10 cm

crest

eye
socket

Figure 84. his toothless

pterosaur (comparable to lower jaw
Tupandactylus) made a fatal
landing, crushing the front of back of skull and front of skull and
the upper and lower jaw. lower jaw lower jaw

103
Mark explains in which these fossils were found are renowned
due to the fossils of ‘bird-dinosaurs’ and ‘dino-
saur-birds’, as well as a recently unearthed giant
Sinopterus gliding lizard. The perfectly fossilised hand and
fingers of Sinopterus display a series of curved, nar-
row claws and extended penultimate phalanges.
These are characteristics that you might expect
to see in animals that are good climbers. Other
aspects of the anatomy of these pterosaurs also
point to adaptations for climbing. They have
shoulder joints that are directed completely out-
ward, instead of a little backward, as is common
with other pterosaurs. This ensures greater mo-
bility in the upper arm and, as a consequence,
the lower arm can extend further. Pterosaurs
walked with the feet flat on the ground, which
contrasts with many other animals that walk on
their toes, and this has prepared them for a life
style of climbing. In addition, the joints of the
Sinopterus dongi is a toothless pterosaur from the hind legs ensured much mobility, which is also
Early Cretaceous of China and is akin to Tapejara very handy if you wish to climb trees. Thus, it ap-
wellnhoferi, for example (see ‘Mark explains: pears that some groups, such as the Tapejarids to
Tapejara’, pp. 114-115). The layers of sediment which Sinopterus belongs, and some early ptero-

104
105
saurs such as Dimorphodon (see ‘Mark explains: plausible, but they will not have lodged between
Dimorphodon’, pp. 19-21) were extremely dex- the small, densely leafed branches, because their
terous in climbing. Palaeontologists believe that claws resemble small climbing hooks and cram-
Sinopterus dongi – and some other similar pte- pons rather than grasping tools. This certainly
rosaurs – ate fruit, and climbing would be very applies to their feet and, accordingly, illustrations
useful, of course, for plucking the fruit hanging in which you see pterosaurs hanging in trees in a
in the trees. There are various modern birds, bat-like way are simply imaginary because this is
such as the cassowary, that find everything they impossible from a morphological point of view
need on the ground. Perhaps Sinopterus dongi (see focus ‘Pterosaurs in the media’).
did both. But being able to climb well has more So, a climbing pterosaur… But what is that
advantages. You can find good accommodation bird doing in the jaws of our Sinopterus? Well,
for brooding, and it helps to avoid natural en- this illustration is based on a fossil pellet from
emies. Although some preying dinosaurs could the Early Cretaceous in Spain, which indicates
also climb very well, the lightweight pterosaurs that there was a bird-lover that regularly com-
could probably move along branches that could piled a festive meal of young birds! It is believed
not carry the larger and heavier hunters. that the pellet came from a pterosaur or from a
In some respects, these ideas are not new. dinosaur, but we cannot go further than that …
Since the very beginning of research of this group unfortunately. Because Sinopterus has a beak that
of animals, we have all known about pterosaurs bears a vague resemblance to that of a toucan, it
hanging on cliffs and in trees. That they may could easily be a candidate for this Mesozoic nest
have climbed from tree trunk to tree trunk is plunderer.

106
hree dimensional models
Introduction
Models are based on scientific research, but this does not mean that they all look
the same. An example of this variation between scholars is the two differing re-
constructions of Tupandactylus imperator (figure 85). The differences result from
individual palaeo-artists using different techniques (compare the account of Erwin
Meerman with the one from the Portsmouth team below). Individual scientists also
give varying importance to the same evidence stressing some characteristics over
others. Furthermore, research continues and knowledge improves and established
views become modified or replaced.

Erwin Meerman
Part of a palaeontologist’s work is to reconstruct extinct animals. One can do this
digitally with a computer or simply on paper, as seen in many of the images in this
book. However, for exhibition, three-dimensional models are of course preferable
(figure 87).

Figure 85. Two interpre-

tations of Tupandactylus
imperator (see also igure 44).
Left a model made on the
basis of scientiic knowledge
several decades ago, whereas
recent research led to the in-
terpretation seen to the right.

Figure 87. Erwin Meerman’s

model of Dimorphodon.

107
FOCUS
Pterosaurs
in the media

The way popular media brings extinct animals back to life differs from
professionals. Palaeontologists and palaeo-artists try to ‘re-create’ the crea-
tures as authentically as possible, using the results of scientific research.
Moviemakers, but also some documentary makers, use a different set of
rules that sometimes make the reconstructions look more spectacular but
are incorrect. For example, the, otherwise marvellous Jurassic Park movie
and its sequels of the late 1990s featured pterosaurs in the third of the films.
Pteranodon (see ‘Mark explains: Pteranodon’, pp. 92-95), as we have seen
earlier, was edentulous but in the movie it was given huge teeth. Moreover,
the movie’s pterosaurs catch their prey with their hind legs. Real ones were
not able to do this because, unlike modern birds, they did not have a hallux
(reversed toe). In birds, this toe opposes the other toes, allowing them to
grasp (figure 86). This lack of a hallux is a well-known pterosaur trait and
should not have been overlooked. Even a reputable organisation like the
BBC showed Quetzalcoatlus with teeth on their website for Walking with
Dinosaurs, whereas it is well-known that they were edentulous as well (see
‘Mark explains: Quetzalcoatlus’, pp. 41-45).

Figure 86. Some birds of prey are able to catch their prey with their legs because the big
toe opposes the other toes. Pterosaurs could not catch their prey as they lacked this oppos-
able toe arrangement.

108
But how are such models made? Some palaeontologists do this themselves, but
more often they collaborate with professional artists. Naturally, there are different
ways to do this and the methods largely depends from the individuals themselves.
Here we examine the methods of palaeo-artist Erwin Meerman, who made, among
others, the life size ‘Rotterdam pterosaur’ (figure 64).
The first thing is to understand the anatomy of the animal. This means that
an artist, like a palaeontologist, has to study the skeleton, muscles, tendons, skin,
eyes etc. The bones are measured with great precision, preferably from the origi-
nal fossils. These measurements are turned into a schematic, life-size drawing and
printed, thus creating a blueprint. This immediately gives a good idea of the size
of the model.
Next, the main parts of the animal (head, neck and torso) are cut from blocks
of polyurethane or ‘pur-foam’; this is a chemical substance that is much used as a
liquid (for example in paintwork for cars), or as blocks to insulate roofs and floors.
It is light but strong and easy to work with. The blocks are secured with iron thread
that serves as a frame and substitutes for the spine of the animal. It also forms the
basis for the limbs (figure 88).
. Figure 88. Left, the irst Muscles are shaped using a lightweight clay (‘Artista’) that is much used in the
stage of the life size recon- world of handycrafts. This material too is light but strong, just like polyurethane-
struction of Dimorphodon: foam, and is easy to work with.
pur-foam blocks, secured
Next the body is finished, except for the skin. But before this is added, the
with threads of iron, form the
basis. Right, the wings are flight membrane has to be created. The frame is put in the required pose and a
added. mould of clay is added in the shape of the membrane and clad with polyester resins

109
and fibre glass, which serves to reinforce the polyester resins. Once the clay is dried
it is removed, leaving a thin layer of polyester flight membrane (see figure 88). If
the skin is too thin, a layer of epoxy can be added.
Next, the other skin structures are added to the rest of the body and the entire
surface is covered with ‘epoxy sculpt’. This material is extremely suitable for this
task, and it is easy to work with (comparable to clay), relatively light and hardens
automatically in one or two hours. This does mean, however, that the sculptor
has to work fast to shape it. The eyes are the same as those used in taxidermy for
mounting birds or mammals. The model is finished by airbrushing with acrylics.
All in all it is a time consuming process that can take several months, time
spent not only in preparing the reconstruction but in dialogue with the palaeon-
tologists. The result is a high quality life-size model of a long extinct creature.

The English models

Typically, dinosaurs, as the most well-known of fossil creatures, are given prior-
ity in life-size dioramas, but, in 2008, the Royal Society granted palaeontologists
working at the University of Portsmouth an opportunity to create a series of life-
size pterosaur reconstructions to be displayed on London’s Southbank alongside
the River Thames during the summer of 2010. The proposed exhibition would
take pride of place at the Royal Society’s Summer Science Festival, an annual event
celebrating the best of British Science. As 2010 was the Royal Society’s 350th anni-
versary, the Summer Science exhibition was set to be held in and around the Royal
Festival Hall. The University of Portsmouth has an established record in the display
of pterosaur research stretching back to the late 1980s and of pterosaur modelling
dating back to 1997. However, the prestige of the proposed 2010 exhibition meant
the pressure was on the team to deliver something grander and more spectacular
than anything previously produced. With the majority of the display destined to
be installed outside, and so at the mercy of the unpredictable British weather, the
engineering of the exhibition had to be more robust that anything attempted by
the team to date.

Figure 89. Finally, details are

added.

110
The concept
Both the Royal Society and University of Portsmouth team appreciated that
the proposed exhibition had to be large, spectacular and, ideally, a little quirky.
Fortunately for them both, pterosaurs deliver all of these attributes through be-
ing the largest flying animals ever: they are impressive and certainly very unusual.
Initially, the Royal Society were inspired by new artwork of standing giant ptero-
saurs set alongside modern giraffes and suggested that the team built a three-di-
mensional rendition of those images: quite literally a giant azhdarchid pterosaur,
such as Quetzalcoatlus, standing alongside a giraffe. As the scale of the project
grew, however, the giraffe was abandoned in favour of building a whole flock of
giant azhdarchids, with two standing animals and three ‘flying’ animals suspended
between Royal Festival Hall and the offices of the Southbank Centre next door.
Potentially, one of these animals was destined to bridge the gap between the ter-
restrial and flying animals by appearing as if it were landing. Inspired by this idea
the team was determined that at least one of the models should represent the larg-
est pterosaur known, spanning up to 12 metres across the wings and standing over
six metres tall.
In addition to demonstrating their size, the team also wanted to demonstrate
modern knowledge of pterosaur diversity with additional life-size models. The
number of pterosaur species known has increased markedly in the last few decades
and the Royal Society exhibition provided a great opportunity to showcase many
animals that would be new to virtually everyone who saw the exhibition. To dem-
onstrate this diversity, an additional space inside Royal Festival Hall was allotted
for a smaller exhibition that would accompany the outdoor display. There was
clearly no shortage of work for the team as they began work on the project towards
the end of winter in 2009.

Figure 90. he initial idea of

the exhibition in London was
to put Quetzalcoatlus next to
a girafe.

111
Realising the concept
Design work for the project began in February 2009 and designs for the giant
models were prioritised over all else. It may be imagined that designing the pte-
rosaur models would be a relatively straightforward exercise: all the team had to
do was pick an appropriate species of giant pterosaur, use its fossilised skeleton to
determine its proportions and size and make the models. But it is not that simple.
Although the team knew that they wanted to showcase giant azhdarchids, these
pterosaurs are known only from extremely scrappy remains and have a very mud-
dled taxonomy. Hence, before their manufacture could start, the team had to work
out exactly what their giant pterosaurs should look like and which azhdarchid spe-
cies they would be making.
When starting in the winter of 2009, the largest azhdarchids – and indeed the
largest pterosaurs known – were Quetzalcoatlus (10 – 11 metre span), Hatzegopteryx
(10 – 12 metre span) and Arambourgiania (11 – 13 metre span). With the goal of
building the largest flying animal replica the team would have to work with one
of the latter taxa. However, when investigating the fossil material for these forms,
problems with their size estimates became very apparent. While the claims for a
10 – 11 metre span Quetzalcoatlus are reasonably sound, the team found that the
methods employed to estimate the size of Hatzegopteryx and Arambourgiania were
less reliable. The fossils of Hatzegopteryx are somewhat distorted and look larger
than they actually are, leading to over-inflated size estimates. Similarly, over-simpli-
fied scaling of Arambourgiania has led to overestimates of its size. As with modern
animals, pterosaur bodies do not grow consistently; their necks and heads, for in-
stance, become disproportionately longer as they become larger. As such, estimat-
ing the size of any pterosaur has to take such growth regimes into account or risk
erroneously estimating the animal’s size. The estimates for Arambourgiania did not
do this and so probably overestimated the wingspan of the species. Reassessment

Figure 91. Design sketch of

the exhibition in London,
where it was part of the bigger
Summer Science Exhibition,
celebrating the 350th anni-
versary of the British Royal
Society.

112
suggested to the team that both Hatzegopteryx and Arambourgiania were compara-
ble in size to Quetzalcoatlus, still very big, but perhaps not as enormous as origi-
nally thought. As a result, the largest models would not span more than 10.5 me-
tres. It was decided that both the grounded animals would be represented at this
size, along with at least one of those in flight. To add some diversity to the ground
pterosaur scene, an element of sexual dimorphism would be included in the design
of both ground animals. The inclusion of this is well-founded: at least one ptero-
saur species has been convincingly demonstrated to show sexual dimorphism and,
although not an azhdarchid, it is reasonable to assume that other pterosaurs were
dimorphic too. Attributes such as head crest development and jaw robustness have
been identified as pterosaurian sexual traits, and these would be used, along with
other details such as colour, to distinguish the sexes.
Not all the models would be so large, however. The two other flying models
would be scaled to eight and six metres across the wings, respectively, the plan be-
ing to create an illusion of perspective and variation amongst the flying group.
Wingspans are just one dimension of many, of course, and other data was
needed to establish the proportions of different body elements. Since giant azh-
darchid material is so poorly represented the lengths of individual body elements
– skulls, necks, limb bones and the like – were mostly scaled from smaller, more
complete azhdarchids, with the dimensions of the giant form used when available.
Ideally, only one giant azhdarchid species would have been used in their reconstruc-
tion but, with so little material available (and virtually no overlapping material to
demonstrate differences between different giant taxa), all the available data from
Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx and Arambourgiania was used. In this respect, the
finished models represent ‘generic’ giant azhdarchids, rather than a specific species.
While the team decided too that the models would represent the North American
form Quetzalcoatlus, the decision to allocate the models to this genus was quite ar-
bitrary: Arambourgiania or Hatzegopteryx would have been equally suitable.
With the scaling done, it became clear that the largest models would be ab-
solutely huge, so large that when stood upright, a man could walk under them
and, when in flight, would eclipse the sun as they passed overhead. One aspect of
the models was deliberately left shorter than it probably was in life – the necks.
Azhdarchids have unusually long necks even compared to other long-necked ptero-
saurs and, on azhdarchids spanning ten metres or so across the wings, neck lengths
of over three metres are predicted. Although constructing the full neck lengths
would have made the models more spectacular, the models had their neck lengths
capped at 2.5 metres to facilitate ease of construction and transportation and to
improve stability. As a result whilest the reconstructions of the azhdarchids are im-
pressive they should actually be still taller.

Postures
With the basic proportions in place, the stature and postures of the models could
be realised. Whereas the poses for the flying animals followed pretty typical con-
ventions of previous pterosaur restorations, the grounded models provided scope

113
Mark explains tended to shift to the middle and, when they ran,
the lines of the feet were more tangential. The
idea behind this is that the body then leans for-
Tapejara ward. In that way you can take longer steps and
advance faster. As a consequence, the relatively
long front limbs are directed outward.
Oh, just one more fact. Believe it or not, there
is an idea that pterosaurs were very active only
in the early morning and late evening, when the
sun’s rays were at a certain angle to the earth. The
theory behind this is that the animals flew later-
ally in relation to the sun and they used the crests
on their heads as solar panels to absorb heat. This
early solar energy theory has never been very pop-
ular because it is full of holes through which a
whole flock of Quetzalcoatlus could fly.

A small lizard attempts to save its skin from the

jaws of the hungry Tapejara wellnhoferi. The
snack’s panic is clearly evident: just as modern
lizards in great haste, the animal stands up and
runs on its hind legs only.
You hadn’t expected that, a pterosaur that
could sprint… After all, pterosaurs are rather
clumsy on land – or perhaps not? Traces of ptero-
saurs (see figure 3) indicate that they could walk
easily with straight or almost straight limbs, with-
out there being any hint of them waggling with
legs splayed or crawling over the ground as was
thought in the early days of pterosaurology. But
some of the traces consist of footprints that are so
far from one another that the only way they could
have been made was by running – yes, even with
the soft tissue between the front and hind limbs
and all other specific pterosaur characteristics.
In fact, the first descriptions of pterosaur traces
actually refer to a running animal, but that was
only realised later. Perhaps they could run fast,
but they did so in an unusual way.
Generally, when animals run, they draw their
gait inwards, so that the tracks tend to be in a
single line. In the case of pterosaurs, the opposite
is true: when the animals were walking, the feet

114
A glimpse at the variation in crests shows us many pterosaur crests, and – as far as I know –
that there were pterosaurs with very small crests there is no bird that uses its beak to regulate its
and that a reasonably large group had no crest at body temperature.
all. Some have crests that are large but have lit- With another rejected theory, you can rightly
tle surface area (see ‘Mark explains: Nyctosaurus’, wonder if these animals were so special after all. I
pp. 72-73) whereas others, including those with mean, they had their own individual flying mech-
the largest crests, have crests made of tissue that anism and occasionally a very strange skull, but
had no heat-conducting properties at all. Yes, does this mean that they did everything different-
you might say, but hasn’t Thalassodromeus clearly ly from other animals? To adhere to the current
proven this to be the case? Didn’t this pterosaur example, if they wanted to warm themselves up
have an enormously rich blood flow to its crest, why didn’t they stand in the sunshine with out-
ensuring good heat conduction? Well, let me help stretched wings, as many modern birds do, such
you dismiss that illusion: I recently charted the as the cormorant? If they wished to cool down,
structure of the blood vessels of Tupandactylus, isn’t it far more plausible that they would retreat
Thalassodromeus and various skulls of birds. The into the shade or perhaps allow the cool breeze
result suggests that the flow of blood to the crest to sweep over them, or simply stand gasping or
of Thalassodromeus was nothing special. In fact: panting like modern birds also do?
the beaks of birds have a better blood flow than

115
b Figure 92. he male and
female Quetzalcoatlus as
exhibited in London.
for the team to demonstrate new ideas on pterosaur terrestrial locomotion. Recent
research indicates that rather than walking with the slightly sprawled gait of other m Figure 93. he enormous
pterosaurs, azhdarchids walked with their limbs held straight beneath the body in a animals make terrifying
mammalian or avian-like fashion. The ground models were designed to reflect this. shadows.
As a result the bodies of the grounded pterosaurs stand 2.5 metres off the ground
and, depending on the posture of the neck, up to five metres tall. One model – the
‘male’ – was designed to achieve the maximum height possible, demonstrating just
how big azhdarchids were. His head is raised to near its maximum extension, al-
lowing him to cast his gaze toward the flying animals. His accomplice, the ‘female’,
was designed to appear as if in motion, apparently moving swiftly whilst grabbing a
small animal in her jaws. This reflected recent research on azhdarchid lifestyles that
indicates they foraged on the ground in a stork- or ground hornbill-like manner.

Turning engineers into palaeo-artists

Such enormous models would obviously require some rigorous engineering at their
cores not only to carry their own weight, but to withstand the unpredictable British
weather. Welded metal frames were designed to run throughout the bulkier parts of
the models, producing metal skeletons that approximated the appearance of giant
pterosaur skeletons. Professional engineers and welders were approached to help de-
sign and produce sound, robust frames for all the models, with in-house University
of Portsmouth engineers asked to provide the frames for the two grounded sculp-
tures. The frames for these models were comprised of steel that was coated in red
oxide paint to resist rusting. The large size of the models and their relatively narrow
gaits proved problematic, however, when attempting to make the frames stable.
Since the body and neck were held so far off the ground on relatively spindly limbs,
these ground models proved rather top heavy. The risks that twisting and bend-
ing forces posed to these frames were nullified with metal straps that were welded
across the limbs and later hidden within the wing membranes. The frames of the

116
Figure 94. A wood stork
(Mycteria americana).
grounded models, as with all the fully reconstructed animals, were made to have
detachable head and neck components to ease their transportation and installation.
The heads and necks were anchored into the main frames with extensions of their
frames that were continuous for the entire body lengths of each model. Hence,
although the necks of each model had been deliberately stunted, the steel neck
frames of the largest models still attained lengths exceeding three metres.
The flying models presented very different challenges to the ground models.
Whereas the weight of the grounded sculptures was of secondary consideration,
the aerial animals needed to be relatively light so as to put as little strain on their
supporting cables as possible. In addition, their frames had to be strong enough to
support the entire model from a few cable attachment points and be entirely resist-
ant to the high winds to which they would be exposed when suspended between
two buildings. The team asked Griffon Hoverworks, a company that specialises in
manufacturing hovercraft for commercial and military contracts, to design, test
and assemble the frames. Digital frames were constructed and their strain perform-
ance tested in virtual wind tunnels before the actual assembly from light weight
aluminium. Each was armed with numerous cable attachment points across the
bodies and distal limb- and neck regions that would be used to suspend the mod-
els. Though it later proved unnecessary, each was also provided with the facility to
also attach it to a ground anchor that would prevent the models lifting off if the
weather proved too windy.

Flesh on bone
If the frames of the models mimicked the skeletons of the animals, styrofoam, rep-
resented the muscle, viscera and other tissues that would give the models their gen-
eral shape. In contrast to the majority of other pterosaur reconstructions, the team
were keen to demonstrate that pterosaurs were not delicately-built animals with

117
stick-thin limbs and neck that looked like atrophied, anorexic living skeletons.
Using muscle scars from the complex, sculpted surfaces that adorn many pterosaur
bones, the pterosaurs were designed to have relatively muscular proximal limb seg-
ments, thereby making them comparable with the powerfully muscled bodies we
see in modern flying vertebrates. What little is known of giant azhdarchid heads,
too, indicate that their neck soft-tissues were thicker than has often been recon-
structed, prompting the team to generate much thicker, jowlier necks for their
reconstructions.
To create these shapes, blocks of styrofoam were carved into appropriate shapes
using scrapers, saws and files and attached to the frames with expanding foam.
The latter not only filled any gaps between carved body segments and acted as a
fantastic, fully water-resistant adhesive to attach the foam to the frames. Indeed,
the bonding agents in the expanding foam are so strong that the rigidity of the
frames was noticeably improved once the frames had been clad (unfortunately, the
expanding foam was equally good at sticking to skin or hair and could, even with
adequate precautions, prove a nightmarish material to work with). After attach-
ment to the frames, the foam sculptures were coated in several layers of epoxy resin
embedded with powdered glass to give each model a rigid, damage resistant skin.
Unfortunately, the dried resin often had an irregular pitted texture that then had to
be sanded smooth – with a minimum of 20 m2 of resin on the largest models, this
was a huge task that took dozens of man hours for each model.

Wings
b Figure 95. he body of a
The wings of the pterosaur models represented one of the greatest challenges to standing Quetzalcoatlus at
the modelling team. This was particularly true for the flying animals whose wings its full size: the neck with the
head can easily be inserted in
had to be fully extended. Birds and bats support their flight surfaces through the
the body.
feathers or bones of their fingers, but pterosaur wings lack obvious structural sup-
ports to hold their wings rigid. Instead, their wings were embedded with a series . Figure 96. he pur-phase
of seemingly rigid fibres that were probably individually weak but, when acting in of one of the lying animals
an entire sheet, held the wing strong and taut. This arrangement worked well for (compare with igure 88).

118
real pterosaurs, but meant that the pterosaur model membranes could not bear any
obvious supporting members. In the grounded models, this problem was overcome
by attaching heavy steel mesh in areas where membranes were needed, which then
acted as a base for adhering fibreglass sheets. Weight was of little concern for these
models and heavy materials such as steel and fibreglass could be used in their con-
struction. The postures of the grounded models were also more compliant with
anchoring heavy metal meshes where membranes were required.
Quite the opposite was true for the flying models. Weight was of prime con-
cern and their limbs were positioned far apart, meaning heavy wings would add
too much mass, and were likely to sag or droop with so little anchorage to the
model frames. Hence, aluminium mesh and epoxy resin-embedded canvas sheet-
ing were used to construct the wings of the aerial models, making the wings of the
aerial models a lightweight version of those on the ground. While their construc-
tion makes their wings somewhat more delicate than those of the ground models,
they still remain more than capable of withstanding heavy weather conditions and,
in being so light, have minimal effects on the stability and security of the models
when suspended.

Detailing
While the metal frames, styrofoam bulk and resin wings comprised the majority
of the models, the details that would bring them to life – eyes, scars, pycnofibres,
scales and colour – needed to be added before the models could really look vital.
The portrayal of the integument was of particular importance as this provided an
excellent opportunity to demonstrate that pterosaurs possessed a hair-like cover-
ing over much of their bodies. While this fact is well-known to pterosaurologists
and supported by numerous fossil specimens, it was undoubtedly a surprising sight
for members of the public used to thinking of reptiles as being exclusively scaly.
Typically, sculptures of animals designed for external exhibitions use carved or
stamped fur-like impressions across their bodies to give the impression of fuzzy
integument, but the team decided that nothing looked quite so much like real fuzz

Figure 97. he light, but

strong aluminium construc-
tion of the lying models.

119
as fuzz itself! Hence, a durable synthetic fur-fabric was sourced and glued to the
faces, necks, bodies and upper limbs of each pterosaur model. Acknowledging that
the fur or feathers of modern animals have distinctive directional tracts, the syn-
thetic pterosaur fuzz was orientated along hypothesised fur tracts to make it look
more convincing. Elsewhere, the skin was left ‘naked’ and merely painted but, on
the hands and feet of the models, scales akin to those seen on some lizard, crocodile
and bird feet were added to reaffirm the reptilian affinities of pterosaurs.
With no eye sockets known from any giant azhdarchid fossil, the team esti-
mated the eyeball sizes of the giant pterosaurs using a dataset of eye socket sizes
from a range of smaller pterosaurs. In the largest pterosaurs the predicted eyeball
diameter measured about 70 millimetres, large compared to our own eyes (about
25 millimetres) but a tiny fraction of the 2.5 metres length of the skull. The eyes
were mounted in the models with acrylic-embedded fabric ‘skin’ used to create
eyelids and wrinkles around them. Sculpted acrylic was also used to add nostrils to
each pterosaur model.

Colour
As explained previously, there are some constraints in colouring prehistoric ani-
mals. For the giant pterosaur models, the size of the animals suggested that drab
colours would be more appropriate than bright ones. Because the team wanted to
show both pterosaur sexes, the male was painted an imposing dark grey and black
(complete with gorilla-like silver colouring across the back) and given more promi-
nent blue flashes along his leading wing edges. His crest was also made a strik-
ing black, recognition of the fact that, despite it being very fashionable amongst

Figure 98. he models are

equipped with synthetic fur.

120
palaeo-artists to paint every crest, spike or frill some luminous colour, some large
display structures in modern animals are not especially strikingly coloured (see, for
instance, the cassowaries and ground hornbills).
Additional details, such as scars, cuts and chipped bills were added to the
models to give the illusion that they represented real animals that were interacting
with their world and with other animals. Many pterosaur fossils show signs of en
vivo damage and, far from being delicate, many individuals appear to have endured
and survived quite nasty injuries. The male model was made to look particularly
scarred in line with suggestions that some pterosaurs may have had mating strate-

FOCUS
Colour:
the scientific evidence…at last

Probably one of the most frequently asked questions about prehistoric ani-
mals is their colour. Until recently, palaeontologists could not answer this
question with any certainty. Some aspects of colour and patterns have been
known for a long time for a very select group of fossils, but most details
of the patterns and colours remained unknown. However, new techniques
allow colour-producing cells in fossil feathers and hair to be detected and
have been trialled on extremely well-preserved dinosaurs from China and
with great success. It is hoped that in the near future these techniques can
be used on a large scale to determine the colour of many extinct animals,
including pterosaurs.
Currently, however, the techniques only work for extremely well-pre-
served fossils and it is therefore unlikely that we can determine colours more
widely. As a result it seems that palaeontologists still have to make educated
guesses based on evidence from living creatures and their habitats. The ecol-
ogy of an extinct animal often determines its colour. For example, an am-
bush predator will not be brightly coloured. Palaeontologists examine the
animals that inhabit our world and are related to extinct animals in order to
predict which wave-lengths of light their ancestors could see since it is im-
probable that an extinct animal would put energy into producing a coloured
fur or feathers, if these colours were not visible to them. Moreover, we learn
from modern-day animals that some colours are much less common than
others, but also that large animals tend to have rather dull colours when
compared to small ones. The type of skin also influences colour: feathers
and scales break light in a different way than does bare skin. Although these
are general indications, they give a framework within which the palaeo-artist
works to achieve the most scientifically accurate result.

121
gies in which single males hold and defend harems of females from other males.
The male pterosaur is, therefore, depicted as having been in his share of skirmishes
with rival suitors. Folds in the skin and jowly throat pouches were added in an ad-
ditional effort to add vitality to the models.

‘Dinner’ and other embellishments

Along with showing the grounded giants in their new postures, the team wanted
to show how ideas of pterosaur diets have changed in recent years. To do this,
they needed to feed their pterosaur models with something and, in line with re-
cent research into azhdarchid palaeoecology, a small dinosaur was chosen. The
team could have selected almost any of the most famous dinosaur groups to be
‘Dinner’ (the pet name for the pterosaur prey model) as many major groups co-
existed with giant azhdarchids. In the end, ‘Dinner’ became a baby Alamosaurus,
a common type of sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous that is known to
coexist alongside some species of giant pterosaurs. Dinner’s identity factored two
major considerations into account. Firstly, sauropods are iconic, easily recognised
dinosaurs that would leave visitors in no doubt as to the dietary habits of the gi-
ant pterosaurs. Moreover, embryonic and adult sauropod skin impressions indicate
that most forms had lightly scaled skin, meaning that the team would not have
to worry about applying feathers or fuzz to the animal. ‘Dinner’ is meant to be a
freshly hatched individual, perhaps no more than a few weeks old and measuring
1.3 metres in length. Dinner’s colouring reflects early abandonment by its parents,
being a stripy brown across his back and lighter on his underbelly.
Of course, ‘Dinner’ and the two ground models would look somewhat out of
place acting out their parts on paving slabs, so the team designed an enclosure de-
fined by educational display boards to home them and filled the inside with a more
convincing Mesozoic setting. A plethora of representative Mesozoic plants – in-
cluding ginkgos, Wollemi pines and cycads, were added along with bark to recreate
a sparsely vegetated Mesozoic scene. A subtle feature, a pterosaur nest with a single,
precocial baby azhdarchid hatchling, was also manufactured and added to the scene
to reflect the recent discovery of pterosaur eggs.

The heads
Thirteen life-size busts of different pterosaur species were also produced along
with the giant models. Most of these were made by University of Portsmouth stu-
dents under direction from other members of the team. An attempt was made to
reflect the vast majority of pterosaur phylogenetic and ecological diversity, though
the tiny size of some pterosaurs (such as the insect-eating anurognathids) meant
models of these forms were not suitable for the exhibition. Most major pterosaur
groups were represented, though: the climbing-pitbull pterosaur, Dimorphodon;
the gull-like Rhamphorhynchus and albatross-like Coloborhynchus, Pteranodon (male
and female) and Nyctosaurus were all reconstructed. The filter feeding Pterodaustro
made an appearance, as did the closely related spoonbill-like form Gnathosaurus. A
robustly-skulled shellfish-crushing pterosaur, Dsungaripterus, along with a possible

122
FOCUS
Alamosaurus

A full-grown Alamosaurus dinosaur could reach 20 metres in length, per-

haps even more, and was born from eggs not much bigger than a football. A
hatchling, however, would have been only about a metre in length and could
therefore have been a suitable prey for the large pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus.
Fossils suggest that baby-sauropods, like present-day turtles, were left to
hatch without any parental protection. They must have relied on protective
coloration to avoid predation by other dinosaurs and pterosaurs.

pterosaurian vulture, Istiodactylus were also exhibited. Different types of the flam-
boyantly-crested tapejarids – nicknamed ‘Hell’s cassowaries’ by the team thanks to
their short faces and crests – were built, as were two types of equally extroverted
thalassodromids. These heads were constructed using the same materials as the ex-
ternal models but without internal metal frames supporting them. As with the fully
restored animals, details were added to the busts to give the impression of individu-
al histories and conflicts. The Thalassodromeus, for instance, was given a prominent
scar across its face and a cataract in its left eye, while the Rhamphorhynchus bears
some partially emerged teeth. The fuzz of some forms was enhanced with longer
quills and manes or cut to produce different effects. These heads were not as robust
or weather-resistant as the fully-restored models, however, as they only needed to
be sound enough for indoor display.

Moving it all about

Constructing so many models, many of them of huge size, dictated that several
workshops and large rooms be used to build and house them before they were fi-
nally sent to London. Transporting the replicas took three separate vehicles: two
cavernous covered trucks took the ground-based pterosaurs, smaller flying models
and other exhibition components, while an articulated flatbed transported the larg-
est, ten metres span flying model. Despite the size of this trailer, the model was still
too large to fit within its boundaries and a timber frame was constructed to tilt the
model up 60º from the trailer base, sending its feet skyward.
Because of the potential hazards involved with installing several large, heavy
models on the Southbank (particularly for those models being suspended in mid-
air), the exhibition had to be installed overnight, a marathon job that kept a com-
bined University of Portsmouth, Royal Society and Southbank team up all night.
The flying models were suspended from cables attached to numerous points on
their frames and specially installed rigs on the surrounding buildings. These cables
held the models taut in several directions and, in virtually all wind conditions, they

123
remained eerily stable. Although the ground models had the capacity for similar
stabilising cables, weighing their bases down with sandbags proved to be more than
sufficient at keeping their top-heavy structures upright.

The finished product

The exhibition officially ran from the 25th of June to the 4th of July, 2010, and at-
tracted thousands of visitors in this short time. The reaction was overwhelmingly
positive with the public intrigued and amazed by the scale, bizarre nature and fuzz-
iness of the pterosaur sculptures. The team, including the many students that had
contributed to the building of the models, were on hand to answer the many ques-
tions the public had about the bizarre-looking animals suddenly thrown alongside
their commuter path, school trips or drinking venues. Numerous journalists and
film teams arrived to film and document the models, including one team that asked
to feature the models in a forthcoming pterosaur documentary. The interior exhi-
bition even had a quick visit from Royalty. The exhibition was considered a huge
Figure 99. he transport of
success by all involved and, happily, the short-lived career of the models in London
the biggest of the three lying
was set to extend with the pterosaurs set to be on display in Europe in the Autumn models was only possible on a
of 2010 in the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). trailer.

124
Figure 100. Overview of
the exhibtion ‘Ptero’s boven
Rotterdam’ in the Natural
History Museum Rotterdam,
he Netherlands (22
September 2010 - 6 March
2011).

125
List of Figures

Figure p. 7, 36: Adri ‘t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to University

of Portsmouth; figure p. 84, 125 en ‘Mark Witton explains figure: Mark Witton;
(1): Mark Witton; (2): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer; (3): Erno
Endenburg after Unwin (2006: 217 & 213 respectively); (4): Erno Endenburg /
André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge; (5): André J.
Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe; (6):
Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung
für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (7): Photographs of the fossil by André
J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe.
Palaeo-art by Mark Witton; (8). Mike Everhart. With thanks to University of
Kansas; (9): Black/white photography by unknown photographer; illustrator un-
known. With thanks to NCB Naturalis, Leiden. Photograph by André J. Veldmeijer.
With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe; (10): Jolanda Bos;
(11): Dr. S. Boor & Prof.Dr. P. Stoeter, Neuroradiologie, Universiteit van Mainz.
With thanks to NCB Naturalis, Leiden; (12): Mikko H. Kriek after Unwin (2006:
33); (13): Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (Courtesy Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia); (14): Photography by Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With
thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München.
Engraving by Egid Verhelst jr.; (15): Edward Newman; (16): Thomas Hawkins;
(17): Tiberius Cornelis Winkler; (18): Heinrich Harder; (19): Salima Ikram. With
thanks to Egyptian Museum Cairo and Supreme Council of Antiquities; (20,
21, 23): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer after Norman (1985: 17); (22):
Erno Endenburg. With thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie
und Geologie, München; (24): Ilja Nieuwland; (25): Photograph by Bayerische
Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; drawing by Mark
Witton; (26): Mark Witton; (27): Photography by Bayerische Staatssammlung für
Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (28): Mike Everhart; (29): Mark Witton;
(30): Dave M. Martill; (31): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks
to University of Portsmouth; (32): Dave Hone; (33): Mark Witton; (34): Adri ’t
Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to Teylers Museum, Haarlem; (35): Adri
’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to University of Portsmouth; (36):
Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung
für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (37): André J. Veldmeijer after Eaton
(1910: pl. XXXI; original by Marsh) and Goldfinger (2004: 216 and 218 respec-
tively); (38): Criorhynchus mesembrinus by Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer.
With thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie,
München; Coloborhynchus spielbergi and thee Anhanguera-species by Adri ’t Hooft
Photographic Services. With thanks to NCB Naturalis, Leiden and American
Museum of Natural History, New York respectively; Tupuxuara by Erno Endenburg
/ André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils,
Iwaki;(39): Photography by Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und
Geologie, München; (40): Coloborhynchus piscator by Erno Endenburg / André J.

127
Veldmeijer. With thanks to National Science Museum, Tokyo; Anhanguera-spe-
cies by André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Karlsruhe; (41): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to NCB
Naturalis, Leiden; (42): With thanks to Bruno Campos, Manuel Maingeot and
Mark van Tomme; (43): Mark Witton; (44): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services.
With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe; (45): Adri ’t Hooft
Photographic Services. With thanks to University of Portsmouth; (46): Left verte-
bra by André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Karlsruhe); right vertebra by Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks
to National Science Museum, Tokyo. (47): Tapejara notarium by Erno Endenburg
/ André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils,
Iwaki; Coloborhynchus notarium by Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks
to NCB Naturalis, Leiden; (48): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks
to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (49):
Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to National Science Museum,
Tokyo; (50): Photograph by Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und
Geologie, München; (51): André J. Veldmeijer after Wellnhofer (1991: 147); (52):
Left by André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Karlsruhe; right by Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to
National Science Museum, Tokyo; (53): Coloborhynchus-pelvis by Adri ’t Hooft
Photographic Services. With thanks to NCB Naturalis, Leiden; Pterodactylus-pel-
vis by Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (54):
Adri ‘t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to American Museum of Natural
History, New York; (55): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to
Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils, Iwaki; (56): Mark Witton; (57): André
J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe;
(58): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to National Science
Museum, Tokyo and Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils, Iwaki respec-
tively; (59): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Iwaki Museum
for Coal Mining and Fossils, Iwaki; (60): Both photographs by Erno Endenburg /
André J. Veldmeijer. Top: With thanks to National Science Museum, Tokyo; bot-
tom: with thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie,
München; (61): Dave M. Martill. With thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung
für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (62): Erno Endenburg / André J.
Veldmeijer. With thanks to Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils, Iwaki;
(63): André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Karlsruhe; (64): André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to American Museum of
Natural History, New York (fossiel) and Adri ‘t Hooft Photographic Service.
With thanks to Erwin Meerman (model); drawing by Martin Hense; (65): Mark
Witton; (66): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Bayerische
Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München; (67): Mark Witton;
(68): Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München;
(69): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to Staatliches Museum
für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe; (70): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer. With
thanks to Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München;

128
(71): André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde,
Karlsruhe; (72): Larry Witmer; (73): Mark Witton; (74): Erno Endenburg / André
J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Jura Museum, Eichstätt; (75): Erno Endenburg /
André J. Veldmeijer. With thanks to Iwaki Museum for Coal Mining and Fossils,
Iwaki; (76-80): Mark Witton; (81-82): Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer.
With thanks to National Science Museum, Tokyo; (83): Eberhard ‘Dino’ Frey.
With thanks to Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe; (84): Photograph
by Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to Staatliches Museum für
Naturkunde, Karlsruhe. Drawing by Erno Endenburg / André J. Veldmeijer; (85):
Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to Erwin Meerman (left) and
University of Portsmouth (right); (86): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With
thanks to Erwin Meerman; (87): Linda Oswald; (88): Erwin Meerman; (89): Wim
Phaff; (90-91): Mark Witton; (92-93): Dave M Martill; (94): Linda Oswald; (95-
99): Dave M. Martill; (100): Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services.
Mark explains: Anhanguera: palaeo-art by Mark Witton. Foto by Linda Oswald;
Mark explains: Dimorphodon: palaeo-art by Mark Witton. Photograph by Erwin
Meerman; Mark explains: Dsungaripterus: palaeo-art by Mark Witton. Photograph
by Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to Stiftung Hirsch (Karlsruhe);
Mark explains: Nyctosaurus: palaeo-art by Mark Witton. Photograph by Adri ’t
Hooft Photographic Services. With thanks to University of Portsmouth; Mark ex-
plains: Pteranodon palaeo-art by Mark Witton. Photograph by Mike Everhart. With
thanks to University of Kansas, Verenigde Staten; Mark explains: Pterodaustro: pal-
aeo-art by Mark Witton. Photograph by Adri ’t Hooft Photographic Services. With
thanks to University of Portsmouth; Mark explains: Quetzalcoatlus: palaeo-art by
Mark Witton. Photographs by Linda Oswald; Mark explains: Sinopterus: palaeo-art
by Mark Witton. Photograph by Linda Oswald; Mark explains: Tapejara: palaeo-
art by Mark Witton. Photograph by Linda Oswald.

129
130
Names of the animals
(in alphabetical order)

Alamosaurus (Lizard from the Alamo)

Anchiornis (Almost a bird)
Anhanguera (From the city of Anhangüera)
Anhangueridae (Old devils)
Anurognathus (Without tail or jaw)
Apatosaurus (Different lizard)
Arambourgiania (After the scholar Camille Arambourg)
Archaeopteryx (Ancient wing)
Austriadactylus (Southern finger)
Azhdarchidae (After the dragon Ashdaar from Persian mythology)
Brasileodactylus (Finger from Brasil)
Brontosaurus (Thunder lizard)
Camarosaurus (Lizard from Camara)
Coloborhynchus (Maimed beak)
Criorhynchus (Battering-ram snout)
Darwinopterus (Darwin’s wing)
Dimorphodon (Two forms of teeth)
Diplodocus (Two beams)
Dsungaripterus (Wing from the Junggar Basin)
Eudimorphodon (Before the two forms of teeth - i.e., Dimorphodon)
Giganotosaurus (Large lizard from the south)
Gnathosaurus (Jaw lizard)
Hatzegopteryx (Hațeg basin wing)
Ichtyosaurus (Fish lizard)
Iguanodon (Iguana tooth)
Irritator (From the ‘irritation’ the authors felt when they realised
they had been confronted with a doctored specimen)
Istiodactyloidae (Broad wing)
Lacusovagus (Lake wanderer)
Leedsichthys (Fish from Leeds)
Liopleurodon (Smooth-sided teeth)
Ludodactylus (Game finger)
Megalosaurus (Great lizard)
Nyctosaurus (Night lizard)
Ornithocheiridae (Bird hands)
Plesiosaurus (Almost a lizard)
Pteranodon (Wing without teeth)
Pterodactylus (Winged finger)
Pterodaustro (Wing from the south)
Pterosaur (Winged lizard)
Quetzalcoatlus (’Winged serpent’, after the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl)

131
Rhamphorhynchus (Beaked snout)
Sinopterus (Chinese wing)
Sordes (Scum)
Spinosaurus (Spined lizard)
Stegosaurus (Roofed lizard)
Steneosaurus (Narrow lizard)
Tapejara (’The old being’, from a Tupi word)
Thalassodromeus (Sea runner)
Tupandactylus (Tupan finger, in reference to the thunder god of the Tupi)
Tupuxuara (After the Tupi word for ‘familiar ghost’)
Tyrannosaurus (Tyrant lizard)

Note: the Greek word ‘sauros’ (σαυρος) is here translated as ‘lizard’; in its original
meaning it might just as well be interpreted as ‘reptile’ or even ‘salamander’. We
have here used ‘lizard’ for no other reason than that it is usually translated that
way. However, it is important to realise that dinosaurs (’terrible lizards’) are only
distantly related to modern-day iguanas and monitors.

132
Further reading

There are not many books on pterosaurs for the general public, but nonetheless the
few that are available are most certainly worthwhile.
Although 20 years old and so prepared before many significant recent develop-
ments is Peter Wellnhofer’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs (1991) which is
one of the primary works on these extinct animals. The book, elaborately illus-
trated with photographs and beautiful palaeo-art by the legendary John Sibbick, is
a very good introduction to the subject. Peter Wellnhofer, the ‘father of pterosau-
rology’, has published extensively on pterosaurs, among which are several scientific
monographs.
A more recent, general book is Dave Unwin’s The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time
(2006). The content is very up-to-date.
Mark Witton is currently working on an overview that will present a fresh view in
word and image of these flying pioneers.
Many scientific publications have appeared over the last 20 to 30 years. Eric
Buffetaut and Jean-Michel Mazin edited the book Evolution and Palaeobiology of
Pterosaurs (2003), which is the result of the first international congress on ptero-
saurs and deals with a large variety of topics. The Zitteliana volume Flugsaurier:
Pterosaur Papers in Honour of Peter Wellnhofer was published in 2008 and is ed-
ited by Dave Hone and Eric Buffetaut and is the result of the second interna-
tional congress on pterosaurs in Munich. The book by Sankar Chatterjee and R.J.
Templin (Posture, Locomotion, and Paleoecology of Pterosaurs, 2004) focusses on
morphology.
Much information can be found on the internet. First and foremost is http://www.
pterosaur.net/, a website that focusses on these extinct animals and is managed by
pterosaurologists and palaeo-artists.
Chris Bennet’s website http://bigcat.fhsu.edu/biology/cbennett/research.html is
important because it includes a fairly complete bibliography.
Much information can also be found on Dave Hone’s blog http://archosaurmus-
ings.wordpress.com/.
Finally, many pterosaur species are discussed at Wikipedia. Although much infor-
mation, especially the basics, is reasonable well presented, this source should be
viewed critically.

133

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Pterosaurs Flying Contemporaries of The Dinosaur-Andre J Veldmeijer Mark Witton Ilja Nieuwland PDF

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Pterosaurs Flying Contemporaries of The Dinosaur-Andre J Veldmeijer Mark Witton Ilja Nieuwland PDF

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And ré J.

F LYI NG CONT E MPOR A RI E S OF T HE DI NOS AURS

Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden

Cover design: K. Wentink, Sidestone Press

PTEROSAURS: A SHORT INTRODUCTION 37

THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELS 107

LIST OF FIGURES 127

NAMES OF THE ANIMALS 131

FURTHER READING 133

Figure 2. he oldest fossils of

Triassic, but their evolution-

other groups of animals such

overview of the most impor-

251 199.6 145.5 65.5 0

Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleocene Eocene

Paleozoic Mesozoic Kenozoic

Figure 5. In rare cases a dead

Figure 6. Two examples of

Figure 10. Studying fossils is

m Figue 11. CT-scan images

c Figure 12. When an

Figure 15. Etching prepared

Figure 16. Frontispiece to

However, professional palaeontologist, insofar as they existed at the time (pal-

Figure 18. Pteranodon as

When did pterosaurs live?

Triassic (figure 20)

Figure 19. Crocodiles are ar-

Figure 21. he Jurassic world

Jurassic (figure 21)

Cretaceous (figure 23)

Where did pterosaurs live?

m c Skimmers gather food by ploughing through the

Figure 24. Around Solnhofen,

Figure 25. An example of the

Figure 26. One of the early

Figure 27. Gnathosaur was

Where Pterandon roams: the Niobrara Formation (figure 28)

Figure 28. he Smoky Hills

Figue 29. Othniel Marsh and

Giving pterosaurs more depth: the Araripe Group lagerstätte

Figure 32. Tugulu and (next

Figure 37. he skeleton of

Figure 38. Several examples of

Many pterosaurs had teeth, a characteristic seemingly inherited from their

Figure 40. he skull of

m Figue 41. he cross-sec-

Figure 43. A few examples of

Figure 44. he fossil of

Figure 45. Models of a female

m Figure 46. Elongation

c Figure 47. Bottom:

Figure 48. he irst ten dorsal

Figure 49. Although

Figure 50. he tail in

m Figure 51. he shoulder in

b Figure 52. he breastbone

Figure 56. Pterosaurs were

Figure 58. he upper arm

Figure 59. he ulna is the

Figure 60. he pteroïd is

m Figure 62. he metacar-

b Figue 63. he claws of the

Figure 64. An un-prepared

Figure 69. he light mem-

Figure 72. he brain of

Figure 74. Unidentifed

b Figure 75. Tapejara

c Figure 76. Quetzalcoatlus

…and becoming food

Figure 77. halassodromeus

Figure 79 shows an ocean dwelling Steneosaur-crocodile that lived in the

Figure 79. Steneosaurus seizing a Rhamphorhynchus.

It is a fact that the tooth of Irritator is embedded in a pterosaur cervical,

Figure 80. Hunting Irritator.

Sick and cured