In the sky of the Mesozoic era, winged reptiles reigned supreme pterosaurs, which rose into the air on leathery wings. They were not dinosaurs and they were distant relatives.
Pterosaur flight
The pterosaur wing consisted of a wide skin membrane. It was stretched between the shoulder, the incredibly long toe of the forelimb and the hind legs. Pterosaurs soared in the sky in ascending air currents, occasionally flapping their wings. On the ground, they moved, helping themselves with clawed fingers on the leading edge of the wing. And the rock ledges served as launching pads for take-off.
Looking for food
The structure of the head and beak varied greatly among different pterosaurs, because they adapted to get and eat different foods. The smallest ate insects, catching them on the fly. Many pterosaurs ate fish and shellfish that swarmed in lakes and seas. And the huge quetzalcoatls probably did not disdain carrion.
Big and small
Quetzalcoatl (“winged serpent”) was named after the deity of the ancient people of the Aztecs for a reason. This pterosaur was huge its wingspan reached 12 meters, like a small plane! The crow-sized Sordesa pterosaurs looked tiny in comparison. It looks like the body of the Sordes was covered with short hair. Hence the name of one of them hairy evil spirits.
