Could This Thing *Really* Fly?
Could This Thing *Really* Fly? with tags minuteearth, minute earth, minutephysics, minute physics, earth, history, science, environment, environmental science, earth science, pterosaurs, quetzalcoatlus, deltopectoral crest, postcranial pneumaticity, quad launch
The Quetzalcoatlus – one of the largest pterosaurs that ever lived – was able to fly even though it was the size of a giraffe! How on Earth did this giant manage to fly?
LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Pterosaurs: are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria and are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight.
- Quetzalcoatlus: is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur. Quetzalcoatlus northropi has gained fame as a candidate for the largest flying animal ever discovered.
- Deltopectoral crest: is a forward directed bony flange on the upper part of the humerus. It provided insertion surfaces for muscles of the shoulder and chest.
- Postcranial pneumaticity: is the presence of air-filled cavities inside bones of the body (everything except the skull) that are connected to the respiratory system.
- Quad Launch (also Quadrupedal launch): is a takeoff method where an animal launches into the air using all four limbs—both the hind legs and the forelimbs.
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Ever Salazar | Script Writer, Narrator, Illustrator, Video Editor, Animator and Director
Dr. Krishma Singal (Postdoctoral Researcher - Rice University) | Storyboard Artist
Sarah Berman | Illustrator, Video Editor, and Animator
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke
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Rhamphorhynchus Fossil In Berlin
Photo by: Uwe Jelting
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REFERENCES
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Witton, M. (2008). A new approach to determining pterosaur body mass and its implications for pterosaur flight. Zitteliana Reihe B: Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung fur Palaontologie und Geologie. B28. 143-158.
