Pterosaurs

[Bryan McDevitt <dinomcdevitt@yahoo.com>]

Although all pterosaurs flew well, scientists are not
sure how they got about on the ground. For years,
pterosaurs were thought to be like bats or birds, but
scientists now realise that they were not built like
any other known group of animals. This makes it
difficult to understand how they moved because there
is nothing to compare their bones with. By studying
how bones fit together, scientists are able to see how
the animal might have used them.  Pterosaurs used a
variety of ways to take off. Some probably ran along
the ground on their back legs then flapped their wings
and jumped into the air. Germanodactylus probably let
go of the branch it was clinging to and swooped down,
before flapping its wings to stay in the air. Those
with very large wings, such as Gnathosaurus, just
spread their wings and let the wind and air currents
carry them upwards. The fish-eating Gallodactylus had
forward-pointing teeth to catch and keep hold of
slithery fish. Experts think that some pterosaurs
dived straight into the water to catch fish, while
others flew low over the surface of the water,
scooping up fish in their open jaws. Most fish-eating
pterosaurs had pouches at the back of their throats.
They may have stored extra food there to take back to
their nests for a snack, rather like pelicans do
today.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/