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More pterosaurs in non-KT worlds
Topic Started: Jun 29 2010, 08:07 AM (1,143 Views)
Carlos
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"Incidentally, a Late Cretaceous (!) non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Candeleros Formation of Argentina was reported at a pterosaur conference held in Munich in 2007. However, we don't yet know whether it was an anurognathid or not."

- Darren Naish

Not only was I right to suggest the presence of anurognathids in the Late Cretaceous, if this isn't an anurognathid it would mean pterosaurs weren't going to die out anyway after all.
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Ook
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since pterosaur skeletons are fragile and rare,i always believes that there was lot of pterosaurs in late cretaceous
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TheCoon
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It makes sense. Pterosaur fossils are very rare. Since their bones are hollow, the few that managed to survive were destroyed by a number of factors. It's like bolosaurs. Paleontologists think they're rare because of the lack of fossils, but the few they have found have greater range than any other Captorhinid, so it is possilbe they too were common, but their fossils are scarse.

With that said, I can see an alternate present filled with pterosaurs everywere.
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Cephylus
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Yes, and cretaceous earth was not so fossil-friendly.
Or pterosaurs were just recovering from the Turoninan extinction events
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Pando
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It's like bird fossils. Even though the passenger pigeon had over a few billion members, not a single passenger pigeon fossil has been found.
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TheCoon
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cephlaken
Jun 29 2010, 09:26 AM
Yes, and cretaceous earth was not so fossil-friendly.
Or pterosaurs were just recovering from the Turoninan extinction events
In fact not even the turoninan extinction was able to reduce greatly pterosaurs. That one affected more marine life than any other species.

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Toad of Spades
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Pterosaurs could have been all over the place. Just because the huge pterodactyloids weren't as easy to find doesn't mean they were in decline. So that means that smaller non-pterodactyloids could have been very common. Its interesting to think that there could be many niches filled by non-pterodactyloids that have yet to be discovered.
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Ook
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Passenger pigeon like pterosaurs wóuld be cool
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Toad of Spades
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What I really want to see discovered are woodpecker-like or owl-like pterosaurs.
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Carlos
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Anurognathids would totally be the owl analogues. They appeared had silent wing beats (thanks to pycnofibril covered wing membranes), strong claws and were obviously nocturnal, having large eyes.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
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The Dodo
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If the fossil turns out to not be an Anurognathid, what other pterosaur could it be?
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Carlos
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Maybe something as cool as a scaphognathid or a relative of Darwinopterus
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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Rick Raptor
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JohnFaa
Jun 29 2010, 04:22 PM
Anurognathids would totally be the owl analogues. They appeared had silent wing beats (thanks to pycnofibril covered wing membranes), strong claws and were obviously nocturnal, having large eyes.
I always imagined Anurognathids more like insect-eating nightjars than predatory owls.
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Carlos
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The known anurognathids were certainly too small for large prey (Anurognathus itself has a body length of 10 centimeters, in spite of its half a meter wingspan), but larger forms could have existed, or at least ones with teeth suited for cuting flesh
Edited by Carlos, Jun 30 2010, 06:44 AM.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

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Toad of Spades
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Woodpecker pterosaurs would be highly likely. However their method of obtaining food might evolve differently. They could slam their heads into trees like woodpeckers, or they could evolve to chip away at it like an aye-aye. Another interesting idea is drilling into trees with beaks that are slightly twisted to the side.
Edited by Toad of Spades, Jun 30 2010, 12:08 PM.
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