Pterosaur wing-body junction

Pandora

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Oct 19, 2021, 1:58:24 PM10/19/21

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Pterosaurs evolved a muscular wing–body junction providing
multifaceted flight performance benefits: Advanced aerodynamic
smoothing, sophisticated wing root control, and wing force generation.

Abstract

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrate flyers and lived for over 160
million years. However, aspects of their flight anatomy and flight
performance remain unclear. Using laser-stimulated fluorescence, we
observed direct soft tissue evidence of a wing root fairing in a
pterosaur, a feature that smooths out the wing–body junction, reducing
associated drag, as in modern aircraft and flying animals. Unlike bats
and birds, the pterosaur wing root fairing was unique in being
primarily made of muscle rather than fur or feathers. As a muscular
feature, pterosaurs appear to have used their fairing to access
further flight performance benefits through sophisticated control of
their wing root and contributions to wing elevation and/or anterior
wing motion during the flight stroke. This study underscores the value
of using new instrumentation to fill knowledge gaps in pterosaur
flight anatomy and evolution.

Open access:
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/44/e2107631118

Daud Deden

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Oct 21, 2021, 3:06:24 PM10/21/21

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Excellent, thanks Pandora. I'm too rushed to read all, but a question. Did it have a long boney tail (thus compressional perching as seen in early pterosaurs, avians & anthropoids), or, did it have tendon-locking toes for upright perching & plucking and tail-lessening as in later pterosaurs, avians and hominoids? I suspect the latter, and expect the soft-tissue fairing indicated very advanced aerodynamic specialization not seen in early species. DD

Pandora

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Oct 22, 2021, 11:19:45 AM10/22/21

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It's a pterodactyloid, therefore short-tailed.

Daud Deden

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Oct 22, 2021, 12:56:31 PM10/22/21

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Yes, a nimble flying insectivore, comparable to songbirds, swifts, small bats. I wonder if it had derived specialized ears (acoustic, aerodynamic balance) vs more primitive spp.

Daud Deden

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Oct 27, 2021, 4:52:25 AM10/27/21

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Did later pterosaurs (eg. toothless tailless Pterodactyls) lay eggs on the ground like early pterosaurs or in arboreal bowl nests? How can that be determined?

Daud Deden

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Oct 28, 2021, 1:20:34 AM10/28/21

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> Did later pterosaurs (eg. reduced teeth tailless climbing Pterodactylus, toothless tailless pterodon) lay eggs on the ground like early pterosaurs penguin-like or in arboreal bowl nests? How can that be determined?
Some sources claim pterosaurs were quadrupedal, some bipedal.

Pandora

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Oct 28, 2021, 11:10:45 AM10/28/21

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On Wed, 27 Oct 2021 22:20:33 -0700 (PDT), Daud Deden

See:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699520300024

"After two centuries of debate, ichnological arguments have led
today to an almost global consensus on the terrestrial locomotion
of pterodactyloid pterosaurs. When grounded, they were quadrupedal
animals, with plantigrade tetradactyl pes, digitigrade tridactyl
manus, erect parasagittal hindlimbs and more or less sprawled
forelimbs due to the large folded wing digit."

Daud Deden

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Oct 29, 2021, 9:00:38 AM10/29/21

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Thanks. I don't know if they used the same posture/locomotion on tree branches or cliffs, nor if they sometimes went bipedal.
Bats also fly and perch, some hang upside-down by tendon locking their feet, others apparently lock the tendons of all four limbs to cliff faces (head up) or cave ceilings (belly up). Afaik no bats catch prey with their feet raptor-style.
Sloths use tendon lock, perhaps some opposums too, during rest afaict.