New pterosaur publication

["Andrew A. Farke" <andyfarke@hotmail.com>]

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on-list:

Posture, Locomotion, and Paleoecology of Pterosaurs By Sankar Chatterjee and
R. J. Templin Geological Society of America Special Paper Published 2004
64 pages

Summary from GSA webpage:

Pterosaurs were flying archosaurs that lived during the age of dinosaurs
from 225 million to 65 million years ago. The ecology of pterosaurs was
similar to those of modern seabirds, spending much time in coastal areas for
feeding. Small and medium-size pterosaurs probably foraged by plunge diving
like modern pelicans. Large pterodactyloids were probably active waders or
surface riders during feeding, using their feet to propel while folding
their wings sidewise. This volume investigates the flight performance of
pterosaurs using 10 genera in a wide size spectrum during their 160 million
years of evolution. With body masses ranging from 0.015 kg to 70 kg and
wingspans from 0.4 m to 10.4 m, the largest pterosaur weighed about 4700
times more than the smallest species, and the longest wingspan was 25 times
the shortest. The authors adapted helicopter momentum stream tube theory to
estimate the scaling of aerial locomotion of pterosaurs and to minimize the
complexities of animal physiology. Detailed figures illustrate findings on
gliding performance, angles, and airspeed, styles of flight, and takeoffs
and landings. Possible functions of the pterosaur's physiological features
also are explored.

More information (including Table of Contents) at:

http://rock.geosociety.org/bookstore/default.asp?oID=0&catID=9&pID=SPE376

________________________________
Andrew A. Farke, Graduate Student
Department of Anatomical Sciences
Stony Brook University
T8 040 Health Sciences Center
Stony Brook, NY  11794-8081
 
Phone: 631-444-7364