Re: pterosaur femora sprawl

[David Peters <davidpeters@att.net>]

 David Peters
1247 Highland Terrace
St. Louis, MO  63117-1712
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davidpeters@att.net

> 
>   Anyways, please, I'd like to see a paper describing why a pterosaur is 
> ill-suited to walking quadrupedally.
> 
>

Most are _not_ ill-suited. So you'll never such a paper, I suppose. You all are 
reading way too much into this and you're getting way too polarized.

Only the most basal forms and others with hyper-long metacarpals coupled with 
short legs (like Nyctosaurus) would have difficulties (or it would be the 
essentially the same as walking bipedally, as shown by Bennett), as I'm sure 
you'll agree. 

For most pterosaurs it would be extremely easy to slip from one mode to the 
other because, properly configured, the glenoid is over the toes, as in birds. 
One can lift the wings without changing anything else and remain completely 
balanced, whether walking or standing still.