pterosaur

Examples of pterosaur in the following topics:

• Evolution of Reptiles

  • Dinosaurs and pterosaurs diverged from early amniotes and dominated the Mesozoic Era.
  • About 250 million years ago, archosaurs radiated into the dinosaurs and the pterosaurs.
  • Although they are sometimes mistakenly called dinosaurs, the pterosaurs were distinct from true dinosaurs .
  • Pterosaurs had a number of adaptations that allowed for flight, including hollow bones (birds also exhibit hollow bones, a case of convergent evolution).
  • Pterosaurs, which existed from the late Triassic to the Cretaceous period (210 to 65.5 million years ago), possessed wings, but are not believed to have been capable of powered flight.

• Evolution of Amniotes

  • The archosaurs include modern crocodiles and alligators, and the extinct pterosaurs ("winged lizard") and dinosaurs ("terrible lizard").

• Convergent Evolution

  • Bat and pterosaur wings are an example of analogous structures, while the bat wing is homologous to human and other mammal forearms, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions.

• Homologous Structures

  • The wings of pterosaurs (1), bats (2), and birds (3) are analogous as wings, but homologous as forelimbs.