A GIANT pterosaur that lived near the end of the dinosaur age in Romania flew thanks to a puffy skull. Hatzegopteryx had a wingspan of 12 metres, and its heavy-looking skull was a monster 3 metres across, raising questions about how it got off the ground. Now Eric Buffetaut of the CNRS research institute in Paris says the key to its flight was very light bones (Naturwissenschaften, DOI 10.1007/s00114-002-0307-1). Thin bony walls separated empty space in a skull that was “more or less expanded polystyrene”, he says.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
2
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
3
The ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away
4
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
5
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
6
Rebooting stem cells builds aged muscles and assists injury recovery
7
Wind-assisted cargo ships could more than halve shipping emissions
8
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
9
After news about Oliver Sacks's "lies", we revisit his best-loved book
10
Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan
