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From: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: net.bio
Subject: Re: Flying dinosaurs.
Message-ID: <777@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Oct-85 12:15:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: psivax.777
Posted: Mon Oct  7 12:15:40 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 14:34:02 EDT
References: <148@winston.UUCP>
Reply-To: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 31
Summary: 

In article <148@winston.UUCP> kovish@winston.UUCP (Barrie Kovish) writes:
>[]
>
>Here is a question and a proposal regarding "flying"
>reptiles in the mesozoic (?). First the proposal.
>
>I have seen parts of a debate as to weather some of the
>larger reptiles could fly or were only gliders. Most
>of the arguments seem to assume that the reptiles 
>either were carion eaters or ate fish. Both of these
>seem some what unlikely if the organisms were only week
>gliders. My suspicions are that these organisms could fly 
>much better than we think. However there is another possibility
>albeit somewhat bizzare. 
>
	No one has ever said that Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus were
*weak* gliders. Have you ever seen an Albatros fly? They are hardly
*weak* gliders, since they *rarely* flap their wings and yet can stay
in the air for *days* on end and go where they wish. The model for the
large gliding pterosaurs is based to a large extent on the Albatros,
which *is* a glider and *is* a fish eater. Similar considerations
apply to carrion eating gliders, such as modern large vultures. Note
that it is not strictly *size* which is significant, it is wing
structure. Gliders have long thin wings *relative* to body size,
active flyers have relatively shorter, broader wings.
-- 

				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)

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