Re: Large last gasp of pterosaurs

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> There is no direct evidence of bad flying weather.

Either we have next to no idea at all about what happens when a mountain
falls from the sky. Or the impact produced lots of bad flying weather.

Not quite direct evidence, but an IMHO reasonably safe inference.

> > What makes you think that pterosaurs were particularly limited in their
> > terrestrial agility?  I've not seen any evidence of that in either their
> > skeletons or their trackways.
>
> I'm a victim of pop science portrayal of guy on crutches hypothesizing Q
> terrestrial movt on Making of WWD--was this way off?  Sorry.

Yes, it was off. Not all that far, but... give me crutches that lengthen my
arms by just some 30, 40 cm, and a webcam, and you'll see me gallop
elegantly (assuming that my legs aren't still too long, so that I'd step on
the crutches). I've seen an animation of a pterosaur walking _fast_ and very
smoothly in a track found in Crayssac. For a step or two it seems to be
galloping.

> Yes.  But if birds became able to reach previously inaccessible
> places...then the competition/predation could begin for remote laying Q.
> just as it had for more local pterosaurs.

Why should this evolution have taken place during the existence of Q, and
not 50 Ma earlier? Even *Ichthyornis* is 15 Ma older than Q.

> And then my impression is that birds are able to
> compact themselves more than pterosaurs--

How do you mean?

> Hey, you know what--I'm guilty of the same circularity as the bolide
> arguments for Q. extinction: birds must have had the edge because
> pterosaurs are extinct.

0:-)