Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight, but they remain the only major volant group to face extinction. Despite their significance, much about their flight mechanics has ...

Researchers have attempted to decode the flying style of ancient pterosaurs — the earliest vertebrates to develop powered ...

So it’s perhaps surprising that only three groups of vertebrates have ever evolved sustained, muscle-powered flight. Pterosaurs, Greek for “wing lizards,” arrived on the scene in the ...

Some researchers thought pterosaurs were so aeronautically awkward that they could become airborne only by hanging upside down from cliffs and plummeting into flight. “It’s not uncommon for ...

A solitary Anganguera takes flight, its 13-foot (4-meter) wingspan silhouetted against the sky. The pterosaur sweeps its large keen eyes over the water, pulls its wings inward to pick up speed ...

Reconstruction of the giant pterosaur Hatzegopteryx launching into the air, just after the forelimbs have left the ground. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of ...

The flying reptile belonged to a group of early pterosaurs that roamed the earth 160 million years ago. It had a long pointed tail, wings and sharp, outward pointing teeth. The beast’s fossil ...

The pterosaurs, close relatives of dinosaurs, were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight. While early species typically had wingspans of about two metres, later pterosaurs evolved into ...