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Re: FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE . . . PTEROSAURS HAVE LIFT OFF!

David Peters wrote:

> Quad launch from a tree was, no doubt, customary among
> pterosaurs clinging to tree trunks like lemurs do.

Except that the postcranial morphology of pterosaurs is nothing like that of 
lemurs.

> If
> perching on branches bipedally, a simple drop and fly seems
> appropriate.

If it was a percher, then yes.  But perching may have been the exception rather 
than the rule for pterosaurs (if it happened at all).  I know it's been argued 
that little _Nemicolopterus_ was a percher; but although it's likely to have 
been a tree-dweller, _Nemicolopterus_'s arboreal characters suggest suspensory 
behavior rather than bipedal perching.  (To me, anyway.)

http://dml.cmnh.org/2008Feb/msg00105.html

Cheers

Tim