Abstract
THE Cretaceous pterosaur Pteranodon was the largest flying animal known to exist in vertebrate history (see Fig. 1). Its wing-span reached 25 feet, far exceeding in size the largest modern bird, the albatross, which has a wing span of only 12 feet1,2. Although Pteranodon was so large, its weight was surprisingly low. This has been estimated as a maximum of 55 pounds or a minimum of 25 pounds1,3. About 40 pounds may be taken as a reasonable weight. In any case, Pteranodon was an animal of great size and fragility. Its weight had become reduced during the course of its evolution in many different ways; for example, the heavy hind legs and pelvic region of the earlier pterosaurs had been much reduced, the teeth had been lost, and the bone itself was no thicker than blotting-paper, the wing bones being strengthened internally by crosswise struts.
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BRAMWELL, C., WHITFIELD, G. Flying Speed of the Largest Aerial Vertebrate. Nature 225, 660–661 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225660a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225660a0
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