The posture of floating pterosaurs:Ecological implications for inhabiting marine and freshwater habitats

The highly pneumatic skeleton of the extinct flying pterosaurs suggests that they would float high up on open water, but in a posture rather different to that of birds. However, the exact posture of the body and head remains unknown and would be critical for an ocean going pterosaur forced onto the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Main Authors: Hone, David W. E., Henderson, Donald M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Pterosauria
Buoyancy
Mass
Locomotion
Ecology
Behaviour
SAUROPOD DINOSAURS
NECK POSTURE
BODY-MASS
FLIGHT
GERMANY
BIOMECHANICS
EQUILIBRIUM
PTERANODON
EVOLUTION
LIMESTONE
Canada
Nares
Branta canadensis
Canada Goose
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1983/1f2934d0-b54d-4ef5-8cab-2fb5976a8d86
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/1f2934d0-b54d-4ef5-8cab-2fb5976a8d86
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.11.022
Description
Summary:The highly pneumatic skeleton of the extinct flying pterosaurs suggests that they would float high up on open water, but in a posture rather different to that of birds. However, the exact posture of the body and head remains unknown and would be critical for an ocean going pterosaur forced onto the waters' surface or animals that alighted to feed. Using computational methods with recent models and body mass estimates for four pterosaur genera-Dimorphodon, Rhamphorhynchus, Pteranodon and Dsungaripterus we show that the floating posture of pterodactyloid pterosaurs led to the head, neck and body being horizontal with the ventral 1/4 to 1/3 being immersed, and the external nares being almost at or potentially partially below, the waterline that could have left them vulnerable to drowning. The floatation methods were verified using a model of a Canada goose (Branta canadensis) that is able to successfully replicate the expected orientation and depth of immersion of the bird. While there is convincing ev'idence for a number of pterosaurs foraging in marine and freshwater environments, these results suggest that many did not regularly rest on the surface of the water and if immersed would need to take off again rapidly. The high numbers of fossils of juvenile pterosaurs compared to the terrestrial Mesozoic dinosaurs suggest that this may be linked to their floating posture. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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