CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 80Paleontology and Evolutionary BiologyEvolution and Paleontology StudiesFossil Insects in Amber

A new approach to determining pterosaur body mass and its implications for pterosaur flight

Open access
Witton, Mark P.·2008·Universitätsbibliothek der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
DOI 10.5282/ubm/epub.12010
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Efforts to establish the masses of pterosaurs have been attempted for almost a century, but the methods employed are often as problematic as their conclusions that pterosaurs are unusually lightweight. Historically, most pterosaur masses have been determined through geometric modelling of pterosaur bodies and extrapolation of body densities from modern birds. However, both ecology and fl ight style are known to induce variation of body density across modern bird species, casting doubt on this frequently used method. Here, a new approach to mass estimation is attempted that requires no assumption of soft tissue density or distribution: following observations that the relationship of dry skeletal mass to body mass is essentially identical in ecologically and phylogenetically disparate modern birds and mammals, the skeletal masses of 19 pterosaur taxa have been estimated and their body masses regressed from the relationship between skeletal mass and body mass in modern forms. Masses derived from this method are up to three times greater than those estimated in previous studies with the largest pterosaur in this investigation (wingspan 10 m) found to have a mass of 250 kg. Reappraisal of pterosaur masses shows that lightweight pterosaur mass estimates are considerably lower than those of similarly sized birds and bats, requiring inordinate amounts of pneumaticity (up to 90 per cent for the lowest estimates of the largest forms) and are wholly unrealistic in light of the enormous sizes achieved by some pterosaurs. Combining heavier mass data with restorations of pterosaur wings based on preserved wing membranes permits assessment of basic pterosaur fl ight characteristics. Preserved wing membranes suggest that ankle-attached brachiopatagia are the best supported pterosaur wing model, and distinctions in forelimb/hindlimb ratios produce a range of wing shapes despite a standardised brachiopatagia confi guration. Plotting greater masses and ankle-attached wings into a principal component analysis of aspect ratio and wing loading demonstrates that pterosaurs had a range of fl ight styles similar to those seen in modern volant vertebrates. A broad spectrum of pterosaur fl ight styles are predicted including marine and thermal soarers, adaptive generalists and forms for which fl ight is energetically costly and expensive.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

DataCite · 10.5282/ubm/epub.12010

Cites

86 of 86 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Using Witton's regression equations, mass estimates of 0.445 and 0.323 kg are generated for Microraptor and Rahonavis.

    “For example, using the regression equations for wingspan versus mass calculated by Witton [84], using a larger dataset of extant birds (n = 96) or bats (n = 102), we generate mass estimates of 0.445 and 0.323 kg, respectively.”

    From Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds (2020) · cites this paper as [84]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. ATANASSOV, M. N. & STRAUSS, R. E. (2002): How much did Archaeop- teryx and Quetzalcoatlus weigh? Mass estimation by multivariate analysis of bone dimensions. -Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22: 33A.
  2. BENNETT, S. C. (2006): Articulation and function of the pteroid bone of pterosaurs. -Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 26: 41A
  3. BRAMWELL, C. D. & Whitfield, G. R. (1974): Biomechanics of Pter- anodon. -Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 267: 503-581.
  4. BROWER, J. C. (1983): The aerodynamics of Pteranodon and Nyctosau- rus, two large pterosaurs from the upper Cretaceous of Kansas. -Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 3: 84-124.
  5. CURREY, J. D. (2002): Bones; Princeton (Princeton University Press), 436 pp.
  6. SHAROV, A. G. (1971): [New flying Mesozoic reptiles from Kazahstan and Kirgizija]. -Transactions of the Paleontological Institute, Academy of Sciences, USSR, 130: 104-113.
  7. STEEL, L. (2004): Studies on the Palaeohistology of Pterosaur Bone. -Ph.D. thesis, University of Portsmouth, 359 pp.
  8. WELTY, J. C. (1975): The Life of Birds, 2 nd Edition; Philadelphia PA (W.B. Saunders Company), 623 pp.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Witton, M. P.
Corresponding author
Witton, Mark P.
Venue
Universitätsbibliothek der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Publisher
Universitätsbibliothek der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Published
2008
Pages
143-159
DOI
10.5282/ubm/epub.12010
OpenAlex
W2150915818
Cited by
80
References
86
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 9
FWCI
3.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Open access LMU (Ludwid Maxmilian's Universitat Munchen) (submittedVersion)
  • Universitätsbibliothek der LMU
  • Zitteliana
Funders
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • University of Portsmouth
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Leeds
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fossil Insects in Amber
Keywords
Coniacian, Late Cretaceous, flight dynamics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review