Pterosaurs were the first flying animals ? they appeared on Earth 50 million years before Archaeopteryx, the first bird ? and they were good at what they did. But the amazing thing is that they didn?t really begin to evolve until after the birds had appeared.
Pterosaurs, flying reptiles from the time of the dinosaurs, were not driven to extinction by the birds, but in fact they continued to diversify and innovate for millions of years afterwards. A new study by Katy Prentice, done as part of her undergraduate degree (MSci in Palaeontology and Evolution) at the University of Bristol, shows that the pterosaurs evolved in a most unusual way, becoming more and more specialised through their 160 million years on Earth. The work is published today in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 'Usually, when a new group of animals or plants evolves, they quickly try out all the options. When we did this study, we thought pterosaurs would be the same,? said Katy. 'Pterosaurs were the first flying animals ' they appeared on Earth 50 million years before Archaeopteryx, the first bird - and they were good at what they did. But the amazing thing is that they didn't really begin to evolve until after the birds had appeared.' Katy's study was done in conjunction with her supervisors, Marcello Ruta and Professor Michael Benton. They looked at 50 different pterosaurs that ranged in size from a blackbird to the largest of all, Quetzalcoatlus, with a wingspan of 12 metres, four times the size of the largest flying bird today, the albatross.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
