Scientists discover secret of pterosaur's 'ridiculously' long neck

[FfFfFfFF 58,083]

Pterosaurs, one of the first and largest vertebrates to learn to fly, have often been seen as the cool cousins of the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex.

Now scientists have discovered the 100m-year-old secret to the success of the flying pterosaur: a neck longer than a giraffe.

Palaeontologists from Portsmouth University have been puzzled at how gigantic flying azhdarchid pterosaurs have managed to support their thin necks as they take off and fly while carrying heavy prey animals.

But thanks to new CT scans of intact remains, discovered in Morocco, the mystery has been solved.

 

The findings, published in iScience, show a complex image of spoke-like structures, arranged in a helix around a central tube inside the neck vertebra, similar to that of a bicycle wheel.

This intricate design is said to demonstrate how these flying reptiles had evolved to support their massive heads that often measure longer than 1.5 metres.

Researchers say thanks to these north African remains, they now want to answer basic questions, such as the flight abilities of pterosaurs, which can have a wing span of up to 12 metres.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/apr/14/flying-giant-pterosaurs-long-necks-experts

[IWantYourLove 1,457]

This is so cool, but so terrifying. I love finding out about stuff like this though 

[Not The Real Gaga 7,582]

Such a magnificent creature

Can't believe million years of evolution has led to me 

[StarstruckIllusion 53,563]

Gaga bless Science :)))

[Woolfsmck 2,763]

Looks like Humpty Dumpty's mom...

[Chic 20,830]

What a beautiful animal! Glad they’re extinct so they can’t kill me

[Galactic Mess 1,393]

The closest we'll ever be to a dragon 

Amazing news though 

[Zenoax 108]

Imagine if they're still roaming the earth. They'll be like a giant version of a pelican 

[bobmarray16 0]

Such a magnificent creature