Getting into the Air
Before birds and bats, pterosaurs were the first flying vertebrates in Earth's history.
When pterosaurs were first discovered, most scientists recognized that they were flying animals, but just how they got into the air was a mystery.
Early ideas about pterosaurs considered them to be gliders or poor fliers that needed to jump from trees or cliffs to get airborne. Others thought that they needed to run while flapping, like many large birds.
Modern computer modeling of pterosaur skeletons shows that they could not get airborne by running and flapping, but instead used something called a Quad Launch.
