Originally published September 23 2005
New flying dinosaur discovered
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The pterodactyl is going to have to step down from its title as the largest flying dinosaur. The new pterosaur with bat-like skin stretched between hollow bones measured up to be the tallest flying animal to date.
It was the largest flying creature of all time and it could teach modern aircraft engineers a thing or two.
One species had the wingspan of a Spitfire, lightweight bones built like spiral plywood tubing, and wings made of skin less than a millimetre thick that stretched, bat-like, five metres from each fingertip to clawed toe.
Article continues For years, this ancient archosaur was considered the aviation ace in evolution's flying circus.
But fresh finds of fossil fragments in Mexico, Jordan, Brazil and Texas, suggest that other pterosaur species may have been much bigger.
Scientists say the species would have had wingspans of 18 metres (nearly 60ft) or more, and sailed over warm waters during the Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods, hunting pelican-style for fish.
"They were very, very big animals indeed," said David Martill, of the University of Portsmouth, talking at the British Association Festival of Science in Dublin yesterday.
We now have evidence that these things were even bigger, maybe twice this size.
The membrane of the creature's wing was no mere skin: it was a sophisticated tissue that radiated and absorbed heat and controlled airflow.
Quetzalcoatlus, the Spitfire-sized predator, was discovered in Mexico 30 years ago.
It is possible they were flying fairly close to the water to get a little bit more lift by compressing the air between wing membrane and water surface.
The pterosaurs occupied an evolutionary niche somewhere between the ancient dinosaurs, crocodiles and the modern birds.
Birds and most pterodactyls have wings joined at the shoulder, supporting the body from above.
But one fossil fragment found a couple of years ago seemed to show wings joined at the stomach, supporting the animal the way a Spitfire's wings support the fuselage.
How could you tell the size of the new discoveries just from fragments of skeleton?
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