Pterosaur
A pterosaur was an extinct flying reptile of the Mesozoic Era. Its wing membrane stretched mainly between an elongated fourth finger and the body.
Pterosaur wing: A flight surface formed by a membrane supported chiefly by the elongated fourth finger and attached to the body and hindlimbs. Its unusual finger-supported membrane distinguishes pterosaur flight from bird and bat wings.
Pterosaur flight: Powered flight by pterosaurs, produced through repeated wing strokes and aerodynamic lift. Pterosaur flight relied on a wing structure unlike that of any living flying vertebrate.
Pterosaur fossil record: The preserved fossils documenting pterosaur anatomy, diversity, and evolutionary history. Uneven preservation shapes what is known about their early evolution and ecology.
Quetzalcoatlus: A giant azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Its immense size makes it a central case in debates about pterosaur flight and terrestrial movement.
Bird: A feathered, warm-blooded vertebrate in the living dinosaur lineage, with forelimbs modified into wings. Birds evolved flight independently and used feathered wings rather than finger-supported membranes.
Pterosauria: The extinct reptile clade containing all pterosaurs, from early long-tailed forms to later short-tailed forms. This clade names the broader group whose members shared the defining wing structure.
Pterosaur flight membrane: A layered, fiber-reinforced membrane forming the principal surface of a pterosaur wing. Its internal fibers helped maintain wing shape under aerodynamic loads.
Triassic pterosaurs: Pterosaurs that lived during the Triassic Period, including some of the earliest known members of the group. Their fossils establish that pterosaurs were already flying by the Late Triassic.
Pteranodon: A large, toothless pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America, known for its prominent cranial crest. Its abundant fossils provide a well-known example of a soaring marine-associated pterosaur.
Bat: A flying mammal whose wing membrane stretches across elongated fingers and connects to the body. Bats share membrane flight but evolved their wings independently, with a different finger arrangement.