• Question: how did teradactuls fly if they are heavier then humans

    Asked by rubberduck1 to Ahmed, Francesca, George, James, Nitheen on 17 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: James Sullivan

      James Sullivan answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Hi rubberduck – we don’t know – but I suppose their wing muscles must have been a lot stronger than the muscles of smaller birds.

      All of today’s birds are descended from flying dinosaurs

    • Photo: Francesca Paradisi

      Francesca Paradisi answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      And to add to James’s answer, the wings must have been quite big. It’s not so much about heaviness, it’s the shape of the body that give the ability to fly.

    • Photo: Ahmed Osman

      Ahmed Osman answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Hi
      scientists claim that pterodactyls have problem with flying.
      now it seems pterodactyls, the terror of the prehistoric skies, may have struggled to get off the ground.
      The new research claims that the ancient reptiles, which could grow to the size of small aeroplanes, were too heavy to fly – even with their massive wings.

      The problem, according to a leading scientist, is that they could not flap fast enough to create the thrust to keep their enormous bulk airborne.
      The ‘dinosaur’ popularly known as a pterodactyl is actually called a reptile called a pterosaur, which is Greek for flying lizard.
      It existed alongside the dinosaurs between 251 and 65 million years ago, and were thought to be the biggest creatures to ever take to the air.
      thanks
      Ahmed

    • Photo: George Dowson

      George Dowson answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      I’m way outside my area of expertise but I think the consensus is that they glided more than they flew. Like today’s flying squirrel.

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