Comment on The Structure of a Pterosaur by jconway
Thanks!
It's probable that pterosaurs had air sac in their wings - we know that their forelimb bones were pneumatic. Highly pneumatic birds have air sacs in their wings, and inflate the propatagium in flight - you see it in pelicans.
Kellner gave a talk at the Munich pterosaur conference recently where he identified some tissue in fossilized wing membrane as potentially air-sac material.
The aerodynamic benefits to pterosaurs being able to shape their wings with air-sacs would have been enormous, so a functional argument can be made as well.
All in all, I'd say it's a fairly strong case, though certainly not air-tight (haw-haw).
It's probable that pterosaurs had air sac in their wings - we know that their forelimb bones were pneumatic. Highly pneumatic birds have air sacs in their wings, and inflate the propatagium in flight - you see it in pelicans.
Kellner gave a talk at the Munich pterosaur conference recently where he identified some tissue in fossilized wing membrane as potentially air-sac material.
The aerodynamic benefits to pterosaurs being able to shape their wings with air-sacs would have been enormous, so a functional argument can be made as well.
All in all, I'd say it's a fairly strong case, though certainly not air-tight (haw-haw).
Fascinating. Of course, animals the size of the big pterosaurs could use the extra help in flight.
