Over the Heads of Dinosaurs - Pterosaurs

This lecture presents an overview of pterosaurs, covering their discovery, evolutionary relationships, anatomy, flight, lifestyles, fossil sites, and body-size estimates. It also examines the debated possibility that giant Quetzalcoatlus was a terrestrial predator or scavenger rather than a flying animal.

Syllabus

Over the heads of the dinosaurs. pterosaurs!
Discovering pterosaurs
Early Pterosaur Restorations
Early Dimorphodon restoration
Reptile Radiation During the Triassic
The Late Triassic World 220 million years ago
Earliest known pterosaur locations - Late Triassic, fine-grained, marine sediments
Pterosaur relationships with other archosaurs
Two basic forms of pterosaurs
Pterosaur Lifestyles
Pterosaur wing
Rhamphorhynchus meunsteri - "Dark Wing"
Pterosaurian smart wing
How did pterosaurs get airborne?
How did pterosaurs get airbome?
Darwinopterus embryos in eggs
Famous Pterosaur Fossil Sites - Solnhofen, Bavaria
Famous Pterosaur Fossil Sites - Santana Formation, Brazil
Estimating plerosaur body masses
The strange case of Quetzalcoatlus northropi
Body Mass Comparisons Between the Largest Extant Birds
Body Mass Comparisons Between Largest known Pterosaurs
Temporal Span Equivalence of Pterosaurs and Birds
Multiple, independent losses of fight among birds over 150 Ma