DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.11.022
论文题名: The posture of floating pterosaurs: Ecological implications for inhabiting marine and freshwater habitats
作者: Hone D.W.E. ; Henderson D.M.
刊名: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
ISSN: 0031-0182
出版年: 2014
卷: 394 起始页码: 89
结束页码: 98
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Behaviour
; Buoyancy
; Ecology
; Locomotion
; Mass
; Pterosauria
英文摘要: The highly pneumatic skeleton of the extinct flying pterosaurs suggests that they would float high up on open water, but in a posture rather different to that of birds. However, the exact posture of the body and head remains unknown and would be critical for an ocean going pterosaur forced onto the waters' surface or animals that alighted to feed. Using computational methods with recent models and body mass estimates for four pterosaur genera-Dimorphodon, Rhamphorhynchus, Pteranodon and Dsungaripterus we show that the floating posture of pterodactyloid pterosaurs led to the head, neck and body being horizontal with the ventral 1/4 to 1/3 being immersed, and the external nares being almost at, or potentially partially below, the waterline that could have left them vulnerable to drowning. The floatation methods were verified using a model of a Canada goose (Branta canadensis) that is able to successfully replicate the expected orientation and depth of immersion of the bird. While there is convincing ev'idence for a number of pterosaurs foraging in marine and freshwater environments, these results suggest that many did not regularly rest on the surface of the water and if immersed would need to take off again rapidly. The high numbers of fossils of juvenile pterosaurs compared to the terrestrial Mesozoic dinosaurs suggest that this may be linked to their floating posture.© 2013 Elsevier B.V.
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资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/69484
Appears in Collections: 过去全球变化的重建
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作者单位: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom; Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, AB, Canada
Recommended Citation:
Hone D.W.E.,Henderson D.M.. The posture of floating pterosaurs: Ecological implications for inhabiting marine and freshwater habitats[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,2014-01-01,394