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  • (dramatic music)

  • - [Narrator] Much like today's birds,

  • pterosaurs ruled Earth's Mesozoic skies.

  • (pterosaur cawing)

  • Adapting to many different habitats

  • while their dinosaur cousins roamed below.

  • But these were no birds.

  • Pterosaurs were flying reptiles,

  • and some were as big as fighter jets.

  • Pterosaurs means winged lizard in Greek,

  • and they were the very first vertebrates on Earth

  • to take to the skies.

  • The most well-known pterosaur is the pterodactycl.

  • It was the first one discovered back in the 18th century,

  • but since then, paleontologists have uncovered

  • more than 200 different species, including pteranodons,

  • which were quite large, and quetzalcoatlus,

  • one of the most massive pterosaurs of all.

  • Named for the Aztec winged serpent god,

  • quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of nearly 40',

  • and likely soared through the skies,

  • hunting for baby dinosaurs below.

  • Some, like anurognathus, were the size of small birds,

  • and probably preferred to eat insects.

  • With such a wide range in pterosaur size,

  • there is ongoing debate over how some species

  • were able to fly, but similarities in their wing structure

  • and anatomy may offer clues.

  • Pterosaur wings ran along their sides

  • from shoulder to ankle, and each wing was held up

  • and supported by an elongated digit.

  • The first pterosaur ever discovered

  • was actually named for this characteristic.

  • Pterodactyl is a combination of the Greek words

  • for wing and finger.

  • Each pterosaur wing consisted of a tough membrane

  • laced with blood vessels, fibrous cords, and muscles,

  • and it has been theorized that the muscles

  • could alter the shape of their wings in mid-flight,

  • the same way a passenger jet might adjust its wings

  • during takeoff and landing.

  • Pterosaur fossils also suggest that even the largest species

  • must've been relatively light for their size,

  • because, much like birds, their bones were hollow.

  • Hollow bones would've enabled even quetzalcoatlus to soar.

  • But, not all pterosaurs could fly.

  • In 2009, paleontologists found an enormous specimen

  • in Transylvania that they nicknamed Dracula.

  • At 11.5' tall, with a wingspan of 39',

  • it's one of the largest pterosaurs ever found.

  • But, the shape of its shoulders and wings

  • suggest it probably couldn't get off the ground.

  • With every new discovery, paleontologists are learning more

  • about the nature of pterosaurs.

  • But, the hollow bones that enabled some of the

  • largest pterosaurs to fly are also part of the reason

  • their fossils are so often incomplete.

  • And, the full picture of a sky once ruled by reptiles

  • has yet to be revealed.

(dramatic music)

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