How do scientists know how dinosaurs behaved?

Dinosaur Fossils and Fossilization Paleontologists use fossil evidence preserved in ancient rock to discover how long-extinct animals lived and behaved. In most cases, a fossilized bone is actually a rock made out of minerals, with no trace of the original bone material.

What is one thing that scientists still do not know about pterosaurs Support your answer with information from the article?

Even with the new discoveries, the rarity of fossils leaves major gaps in knowledge about pterosaurs. No one knows how they evolved flight, why they vanished, or exactly what they looked like. Debate swirls around these reptiles like the air currents they once rode.

Can humans ride pterosaurs?

You could ride a pterosaur – if they were still alive today. With the largest pterosaurs weighing an estimated 180 – 250 kg (400-550 lbs), they could probably only comfortably lift and carry smaller people.

How do paleontologists know that pterosaurs and birds evolved flight independently?

In contrast, the wings of Archaeopteryx and birds have only three digits. And their feathers attach individually along their arm and hand bones. These differences tell us that pterosaurs and Archaeopteryx evolved flight independently.

How far could pterosaurs fly?

Large pterosaurs may have been the frequent-flier champions of the dinosaur age, capable of soaring up to 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) at a stretch, scientists say (explore a prehistoric time line).

How were pterosaurs adapted flight?

Pterosaurs flew with their forelimbs. As pterosaurs’ arm and hand bones evolved for flying, they lengthened, and the bones of one finger—the equivalent of our ring finger—became extraordinarily long. Like the mast on a ship, these bones supported the wing surface, a thin flap of skin that was shaped like a sail.

What did pterosaurs evolve from?

Pterosaurs evolved from small, wingless reptiles called lagerpetids, fossils suggest.

Are modern birds descended from pterosaurs?

Paleontologists have found indisputable proof that modern birds are descended not from pterosaurs, but from small, feathered, land-bound dinosaurs (in fact, if you could somehow compare the DNA of a pigeon, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a Pteranodon, the first two would be more closely related to each other than either would be to the third).

What did pterosaurs eat?

Pterosaurs were mostly carnivores and scavengers, and had appropriately varied diets. Paleontologists long thought pterosaurs were primarily piscivores —meaning, they mostly ate fish. In addition to fish, evidence suggests pterosaurs also ate:

How did the behavior of pterosaurs differ from one another?

Pterosaur Behavior. Aside from their relative sizes, the pterosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods differed from one another in two important ways: feeding habits and ornamentation.

Why aren’t pterosaurs in the fossil record?

Most prehistoric species aren’t represented in the fossil record, simply because they died in conditions that didn’t allow for their preservation.) The first pterosaurs for which we have fossil evidence flourished during the middle to late Triassic period, about 230 to 200 million years ago.