Re: pterosaur/bat wing membranes

[Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu>]

> ... Q. was uniquely capable of going where no pterosaur before was 
> capable: to the deeper parts of the pond. And you can see this 
> phylogenetically with ever increasing size, following an initial bump 
> in relative neck length, metacarpal length and distal wing shrinkage 
> in smaller Q-ish sisters. Poling (hand only) pterosaur ichnites of 
> smaller genera show that at least some pterosaurs were doing this. 
> Phylogeny also supports this hypothesis in that Quetzalcoatlus, was 
> descended from Dorygnathus, which, with its relatively short wingspan 
> and a wide-mouth raking dentition, appears to have been a 
> sand/mud-sifter, perhaps seeking crustaceans...

The only thing about habitual "poling" that worries me is that the 
animal cannot take off while wading in that manner.  If that was a 
major mode of feeding, it would leave a Quetz. individual very 
vulnerable much of the time.

Any thoughts?

--Mike H.