Pterosaurs Flying Contemporaries of the Dinosaurs

137 Pages·2012·10.434 MB·English

by  Andre J. Veldmeijer, Mark Witton, Ilja Nieuwland

André J. Veldmeijer
Mark Witton
& Ilja Nieuwland
P T E R O S A U R S
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P T E R O S A U R S
Sidestone Press

P T E R O S A U R S

FLYING CONTEMPORARIES OF THE DINOSAURS
André J. Veldmeijer
Mark Witton
& Ilja Nieuwland
© 2012 A.J. Veldmeijer / M. Witton / I. Nieuwland
Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden
www.sidestone.com
Sidestone registration number: SSP67280005
ISBN 978-90-8890-093-8
Cover design: K. Wentink, Sidestone Press
Lay-out: P.C. van Woerdekom, Sidestone Press / A.J. Veldmeijer
Cover illustration: Mark Witton (UK), Corey Ford (USA), en Yuri Arcurs (Denmark)
Contents
PREFACE 9
Acknowledgement 9
INTRODUCTION 11
What are fossils? 13
What is palaeontology? 16
A short history of our relationship with an extraordinary animal 27
PTEROSAURS: A SHORT INTRODUCTION 37
When did pterosaurs live? 37
Triassic 37
Jurassic 38
Cretaceous 39
EXTINCTION 40
Where did pterosaurs live? 40
The Solnhofen Limestones: the rocks that gave us pterosaurs 46
Where Pterandon roams: the Niobrara Formation 49
Giving pterosaurs more depth: the Araripe Group lagerstätte 51
The ancient lake deposits of Liaoning Province 54
Evolution 55
THE SKELETON 59
The skull 60
The post-cranial skeleton 69
Spine 69
Shoulder girdle 70
Pelvis 74
Hind legs 75
Wing 76
SOFT PARTS 85
Muscles 85
Brains 85
LOCOMOTION 89
Terrestrial 89
Flying 89
DIVERSITY 90
LIFESTYLE 91
Reproduction 91
Food 91
…and becoming food 98
Sick and cured 102
THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELS 107
Introduction 107
Erwin Meerman 107
The English models 110
The concept 111
Realising the concept 112
Postures 113
Turning engineers into palaeo-artists 116
Flesh on bone 117
Wings 118
Detailing 119
Colour 120
‘Dinner’ and other embellishments 122
The heads 122
Moving it all about 123
The finished product 124
LIST OF FIGURES 127
NAMES OF THE ANIMALS 131
FURTHER READING 133
MARK EXPLAINS
Dimorphodon 19
Dsungaripterus 24
Quetzalcoatlus 41
Pterodaustro 66
Nyctosaurus 72
Anhanguera 81
Pteranodon 92
Sinopterus 104
Tapejara 114

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