Pterodactyls
Is this what life must have been like for a pterodactyl? Yes, according to new research into the anatomy and behavior of these extinct flying beasts. Fossils of pterodactyls were first dug up at the end of the 1700's, but the interpretation of their way of life suffered because scientists didn't recognize the creature's remarkable mixture of birdlike and batlike features. Now, in the mid-1990's, we have a much better picture of pterodactyls as living animals. Fossil hunters have discovered pterodactyl trackways at a dozen locations in the Western United States, and anatomists have scrutinized perfectly preserved skeletons that show every joint in the wing, neck, and body. The scientific evidence shows that pterodactyls must have been exceptional aerialists with powers of flight that were superior in some aspects to those of modern birds.
Pterodactyls (pronounced tehr uh DAK tuhls) lived during the Mesozoic Era, which began 240 million years ago and encompassed the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods. They belonged to an extinct group of flying animals known as pterosaurs, fossils of which have been found on every continent except Antarctica. There were two major kinds of pterosaurs-rhamphorhynchoids and pterodactyls. Rhamphorhynchoids developed first, but were later dwarfed in size and variety by the pterodactyls. The largest flying animal ever known was a pterodactyl, Quetzalcoatlus (named after the Aztec god, Quetzal-coatl), with a wingspan of nearly 12 meters (40 feet). Some species of pterodactyls, however, were as small as sparrows.
Almost 100 different species of pterosaurs have been identified, but scientists think there must have been many more. Most pterosaur remains were preserved in coastal sands that later turned to rock, yielding the fossil skeletons found in our day. For this reason, our knowledge of these magnificent creatures is mainly limited to pterodactyls that lived near the sea, even though some species would have made their home inland.
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