Fascinating New Research On Pterosaurs

Want a break from the shark themed post of late? Neither do I but pterosaurs are a worthy group, anything else just wouldn't do.

Dr. David Hone is a name that any vertebrate paleontologist should be familiar with, especially to those who have an interest in archosaurs. He has recently released a paper discussing something that I have wonder at time about myself. That the wing tips of pterosaurs. Most reconstructions that people see of the wing tips of pterosaurs portrays them as straight yet there is much fossil evidence that pterosaurs would have had wing tips that were naturally bent or curved but also were compliant. That would mean that pterosaurs could have controlled the shape of their wing tips in flight and could therefore would have more control in flight. That concept is a very intriguing one, birds today do not have the same control over their wings that pterosaurs seem to have had.

Dr. Dave Hone gives a quick review of the paper at his blog, Archosaur Musing. Here is the link that he gives for the paper. You can read the paper yourself to see what kind of conclusion he and the co-authors of the paper reached. Tell me what you think.

Bellubrunnus which is an animal that the paper focuses on. Notice the curvature of the distal-most wing phalanges.