Pterosaur wing design limits (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Jun 23, 2026, 11:12:53 AM (3 days ago) Jun 23
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Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Non-technical Summary
Pterosaurs are significant because they independently evolved flight and, through the course of their evolutionary history, established new extremes in the maximum size for flying vertebrates. Nevertheless, the precise shape of pterosaur wings remains poorly understood. The link between form and function makes wing shape a valuable tool for beginning to answer questions about how well they flew. The published literature on pterosaur flight abounds, with a variety of life reconstructions. We compare theoretical pterosaur wings with published reconstructions over a series of shape and function tests to understand whether the current scientific understanding of pterosaur wing shape is likely to accurately represent the diversity of pterosaur wing shapes and whether issues in depicting pterosaurs stem from the style or substance of life reconstructions. Our results reveal that reconstructions do not perform as expected and thus do not accurately represent the flight abilities of pterosaurs. This inadequacy stems from disagreement between researchers surrounding the placement of key wing attachment points more so than any particular stylistic element. This demonstrates just how much remains unknown about pterosaurs and highlights the challenges of using soft tissues, like wings, to look at the performance of extinct animals.
Free pdf:
Benton Walters, Emily J. Rayfield and Philip C. J. Donoghue (2026)
Exploring the limits of wing design in pterosaurs
Paleobiology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2026.10103
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/exploring-the-limits-of-wing-design-in-pterosaurs/FE323558D9397D64C8824B7EF09BA149
Wing shape is integrally related to flight performance and function in extant animals. Analyzing this relationship in pterosaurs is complicated by the fragmentary nature of the fossil record and because the flight dimensions of wing membranes do not preserve. In the absence of fully extended pterosaur wing fossils, scientific reconstruction of the pterosaur Bauplan presents the clearest alternative for analysis. However, these wing shapes are subject to multiple conflicting scientific opinions and the artistic styles of the researchers and illustrators reconstructing them. Here we test the functional ramifications of different wing-shape reconstructions. We use theoretical morphospace analysis to establish whether modern reconstructions of pterosaur wings exhibit the diversification and functional performance expected of living animals. Pterosaur wing reconstructions show little by way of taxonomic separation either in shapespace or functional performance, with all pterosaur groups overlapping independent of time, size or proposed niche. This suggests that published pterosaur reconstructions underestimate the diversity of wing shapes expected of such a diverse group and are not reflective of flying animals. Stylistic approaches have little effect on the occupation and diversity of pterosaur reconstructions, suggesting that the underpinning issues lie in the lack of scientific consensus on the shape and structure of the wings, rather than how they are reconstructed.
Benton Walters, Emily J. Rayfield and Philip C. J. Donoghue (2026)
Exploring the limits of wing design in pterosaurs
Paleobiology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2026.10103
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/exploring-the-limits-of-wing-design-in-pterosaurs/FE323558D9397D64C8824B7EF09BA149
Wing shape is integrally related to flight performance and function in extant animals. Analyzing this relationship in pterosaurs is complicated by the fragmentary nature of the fossil record and because the flight dimensions of wing membranes do not preserve. In the absence of fully extended pterosaur wing fossils, scientific reconstruction of the pterosaur Bauplan presents the clearest alternative for analysis. However, these wing shapes are subject to multiple conflicting scientific opinions and the artistic styles of the researchers and illustrators reconstructing them. Here we test the functional ramifications of different wing-shape reconstructions. We use theoretical morphospace analysis to establish whether modern reconstructions of pterosaur wings exhibit the diversification and functional performance expected of living animals. Pterosaur wing reconstructions show little by way of taxonomic separation either in shapespace or functional performance, with all pterosaur groups overlapping independent of time, size or proposed niche. This suggests that published pterosaur reconstructions underestimate the diversity of wing shapes expected of such a diverse group and are not reflective of flying animals. Stylistic approaches have little effect on the occupation and diversity of pterosaur reconstructions, suggesting that the underpinning issues lie in the lack of scientific consensus on the shape and structure of the wings, rather than how they are reconstructed.
Non-technical Summary
Pterosaurs are significant because they independently evolved flight and, through the course of their evolutionary history, established new extremes in the maximum size for flying vertebrates. Nevertheless, the precise shape of pterosaur wings remains poorly understood. The link between form and function makes wing shape a valuable tool for beginning to answer questions about how well they flew. The published literature on pterosaur flight abounds, with a variety of life reconstructions. We compare theoretical pterosaur wings with published reconstructions over a series of shape and function tests to understand whether the current scientific understanding of pterosaur wing shape is likely to accurately represent the diversity of pterosaur wing shapes and whether issues in depicting pterosaurs stem from the style or substance of life reconstructions. Our results reveal that reconstructions do not perform as expected and thus do not accurately represent the flight abilities of pterosaurs. This inadequacy stems from disagreement between researchers surrounding the placement of key wing attachment points more so than any particular stylistic element. This demonstrates just how much remains unknown about pterosaurs and highlights the challenges of using soft tissues, like wings, to look at the performance of extinct animals.
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