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My recent posts on pterosaur-bird flight comparisons has got me thinking
(always seems to happen in the wee hours of the morning!). Anyway,....I`m
starting to wonder if pterosaurs, even the smaller ones (ie. Dimorphodon)
were capable of taking off from a running start on the ground (as Padian
suggests). It seems to me that without the aid of a furcula to store energy, the
wingbeat wouldn`t be fast enough for liftoff,...even while running. Perhaps this
is why they retain the hand claws. They had to be able to climb to a higher
perch (ie. the top of a cycad) in order to launch. (perhaps archaeopteryx had to
perform similar). Any thoughts on this??
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