The science of flying dinosaurs is even more amazing than the movies.

   

Hey guys! Welcome back! We all have seen flying dinosaurs in movies. But, the all flying dinosaurs were better even than they show in the movies. Here are some scientific facts about dinosaurs to make you crave more. 

Scientists compared the flying dinosaurs with birds. They said that the flying dinosaur was too heavy to fly and stay aloft! But the high oxygen level of the Mesozoic made the atmosphere dense enough to allow the huge bird-like organisms to fly. 

Scientists also wondered how they took off for flight. After all, the flying dinosaurs were cold-blooded, meaning they did not have a lot of energy. Later, scientists discovered that Pterosaurs were warm-blooded.

Scientists have cool names for all that exists. Scientists like to call the flying dinosaur a Pterosaur. 

Are there any flying dinosaurs? / Did flying dinosaurs exist?

No, the Pterosaurs were cousins of dinosaurs. And, when we say ‘Pterosaur’, we mean ‘flying dinosaur’.

Are flying dinosaurs dragons?

No, dragons are a myth. Dinosaurs were real. So, we did have flying dinosaurs that soared like birds through our blue sky but no dragons. 

Did reptiles evolve from birds or did birds evolve from reptiles?

Theropods or carnivorous dinosaurs evolved into birds. Pterosaurs did not evolve into birds. So, birds evolved from reptiles. 

Did birds evolve from flying dinosaurs? Interesting. Pterosaurs did not have feathers. A coat of hair-like structures covered their body. 

In fact, Pterosaurs were one of the first vertebrates which could fly. 

The power of flight evolved four times independent of each other in birds, Pterosaurs, insects, and, mammals (bats). 

Though birds have wings, Pterosaurs had a membrane of muscle and skin.

Pterosaurs had pycnofibers. Pycnofibres and feathers had the same origin. Proto-feathers of theropods evolved into feathers. Theropod dinosaurs evolved into birds, not Pterosaurs. 

Eggs of Pterosaurs were more like reptile eggs than bird eggs. In reptile eggs, there is a leathery covering and the egg is too small compared to the mother’s size. In contrast, birds have a calcium carbonate shell on their egg and the egg is comparable to the mother’s size. 

Even there were theories that say that birds wiped off Pterosaurs. The birds wiped off the small-sized Pterosaurs while the large-sized Pterosaurs survived. This theory was refuted later. 

Pterosaurs got extinct during the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. This extinction wiped off all dinosaurs and Pterosaurs. 

Did flying dinosaurs have feathers?

Flying dinosaurs did not have feathers but a coat of hair-like structures, pycnofiber. But, it is wrong to assume that pterosaurs were ancestors of mammals because mammals have hair. Mammalian hair and pycnofibers do not have a common origin. They are similar because of convergent evolution. 

Convergent evolution means structures that do not have the same origin look similar. 

What did flying dinosaurs eat?

Flying dinosaurs ate fish from the surface of the water. But, they were herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. 

Theropods ate pterosaurs. 

The pterosaurs were even excellent swimmers. They did have an awkward gait and walking posture on the ground. 

Pterosaurs were of two types: 1) Basal pterosaurs (or primitive pterosaurs) and 2) later pterosaurs (or advanced pterosaurs).

The basal pterosaurs were small and lived on trees. 

The later pterosaurs had short tails and long necks. They had hands with three fingers. Like birds, they did not have teeth and horny beaks. 

The later pterosaur male and female looked different. It is called sexual dimorphism.

Despite, all this knowledge, we have no sure knowledge of how they evolved. However, Pterosaurs were closer to dinosaurs than crocodilians.

Conclusion

Dinosaurs ignite curiosity and excite us about the past of our planet. Through this blog, I wanted to make you, dear reader, hunger to discover more about the many secrets of nature.

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