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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Pterosaur "Runway" Found; Shows Birdlike Landing Style


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Like a prehistoric dance-step diagram, a patch of fossilized beach in France spells out the sequence of a pterosaur's landing, an August 2009 study says.

The "runway" suggests the birds landed like most modern birds, flapping their wings to slow down just before hitting the ground.

Photograph and illustration courtesy Jean-Michel Mazin via Kevin Padian