Re: Cope's Rule in the Pterosauria - Hone & Benton 2007

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Mark Witton wrote:

> "most later [pterosaurs] were probably coastal fish-eaters"
>
> (Hitting head against wall) - really, what is the deal with this idea? 100 
> years ago, the analogy of pterosaurs as Mesozoic shorebird equivalents 
> would've stood up, but nowadays, with greater knowledge of pterosaur 
> diversity, it just doesn't. I admit, all the direct evidence of pterosaur 
> dietary preference indicates a fishy diet (e.g. Rhamphorhynchus, 
> Eudimorphodon, Pteranodon, possibly Pterodactylus), but there are 
> compelling anatomical and taphonomic reasons to think that many pterosaurs, 
> including many from the Late Cretaceous, were not flapping around 
> shorelines catching fish.

Yes, this is what I was driving at.  The idea that pterosaurs were mostly 
coastal fish-eaters has become as entrenched as the idea that Mesozoic birds 
were predominantly insect-eaters.  Yet, many Mesozoic avians show 
adaptations and/or abdominal contents consistent with fish-eating, or at 
least an aquatic/marine habit.

Also, members of the pterosaur family Anurognathidae (_Anurognathus_, 
_Batrachognathus_, _Dendrorhynchoides_, _Jeholopterus_) had a morphology 
consistent with catching insects 'on the wing' - big eyes, wide mouths, and 
perhaps wings and tail adapted for slow, maneuverable flight.

Nick Pharris wrote:

> > "...Further, there was always a substantial size gap between the largest 
> birds and the smallest > birds at any time. The suggestion that birds 
> somehow drove the pterosaurs towards large size, > and perhaps to final 
> extinction, is currently not supported."
>
> That should read "a substantial size gap between the largest birds and the 
> smallest *pterosaurs*," right?

The paper says "largest birds and the smallest birds", so it's possibly a 
typo.

Cheers

Tim

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