Fw: Pterosaur wing membranes

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

Forwarded on request.

----- Original Message -----
From: Darren Naish
To: david.marjanovic@gmx.at
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 2:30 PM
Subject: Pterosaur wing membranes

The mention in my blog post of an pterosaur with a wing membrane attached to 
the ankle is not based on unpublished or anecdotal evidence, as John Conway 
stated. The specimen concerned is SMNK PAL 3830: a Crato Formation 
azhdarchoid (and possible azhdarchid) that I've examined in person. I think 
I've discussed it here on DML before: excellent colour photos were published 
in the Jura Museum's book _Drachen der L[ü]fte_ (2001) and good b&w photos 
can be seen in...

Frey, E., Tischlinger, H., Buchy, M.-C. & Martill, D. M. 2003. New specimens 
of Pterosauria (Reptilia) with soft parts with implications for pterosaurian 
anatomy and locomotion. In Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J.-M. (eds) _Evolution and 
Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs_. Geological Society Special Publication 217. 
The Geological Society of London, pp. 233-266.

You can see in all of the relevant photos that the brachiopatagium attaches 
to the ankle. I agree that what we see in one specimen, or even in one 
clade, does not necessarily go for all taxa across a diverse group, but, 
well, there it is.

--
Darren Naish
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Burnaby Building, Burnaby Rd
University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, UK, PO1 3QL

email: darren.naish@port.ac.uk
[send large attachments to: eotyrannus@gmail.com]
blog at: http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/
tel: 023 92846045