Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Pterosaurs Didn't Skim (Probably)

New research suggests that most, if not all, pterosaurs would have been incapable of lengthy "skimming" for food from water's surface (due to heavy drag, or the wrong skeletal structure). From the Eurekalert:

"Big was beautiful for the pterosaur, with evolutionary trends towards giant sizes. However, Humphries et al. show that the size of these colossal animals would have prevented them from feeding as previously described, as the drag experienced by a pterosaur over a ton would have imposed too great an energetic cost. The authors also reveal that the smaller, lighter pterosaurs that may have been able to overcome this drag barrier make equally unlikely skim feeders, as they lack the many adaptations of the neck and skull shown in modern skimming birds."

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