A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.

Azhdarchid pterosaurs were among the most widespread and successful of pterosaur clades, but their paleoecology remains controversial. Morphological features common to all azhdarchids include a long, shallow rostrum; elongate, cylindrical cervical vertebrae that formed a long and unusually inflexibl...

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Autores principales:	Mark P Witton, Darren Naish
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/05ac38e85564425d8c5344269cc697fb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:05ac38e85564425d8c5344269cc697fb2021-11-25T06:12:15ZA reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0002271https://doaj.org/article/05ac38e85564425d8c5344269cc697fb2008-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18509539/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Azhdarchid pterosaurs were among the most widespread and successful of pterosaur clades, but their paleoecology remains controversial. Morphological features common to all azhdarchids include a long, shallow rostrum; elongate, cylindrical cervical vertebrae that formed a long and unusually inflexible neck; and proportionally short wings with an abbreviated fourth phalanx. While azhdarchids have been imagined as vulture-like scavengers, sediment probers, swimmers, waders, aerial predators, or stork-like generalists, most recent authors have regarded them as skim-feeders, trawling their lower jaws through water during flight and seizing aquatic prey from the water's surface. Although apparently widely accepted, the skim-feeding model lacks critical support from anatomy and functional morphology. Azhdarchids lack the many cranial specialisations exhibited by extant skim-feeding birds, most notably the laterally compressed lower jaw and shock absorbing apparatus required for this feeding style. Well-preserved azhdarchid skulls are rare, but their rostra and lower jaws appear to have been sub-triangular in cross-section, and thus dissimilar to those of skim-feeders and sediment probers. Taphonomic data indicates that azhdarchids predominately inhabited inland settings, and azhdarchid morphology indicates that they were poorly suited for all proposed lifestyles bar wading and terrestrial foraging. However, azhdarchid footprints show that their feet were relatively small, padded and slender, and thus not well suited for wading. We argue that azhdarchids were stork- or ground hornbill-like generalists, foraging in diverse environments for small animals and carrion. Proficient terrestrial abilities and a relatively inflexible neck are in agreement with this interpretation.Mark P WittonDarren NaishPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 3, Iss 5, p e2271 (2008)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mark P Witton Darren Naish A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
description	Azhdarchid pterosaurs were among the most widespread and successful of pterosaur clades, but their paleoecology remains controversial. Morphological features common to all azhdarchids include a long, shallow rostrum; elongate, cylindrical cervical vertebrae that formed a long and unusually inflexible neck; and proportionally short wings with an abbreviated fourth phalanx. While azhdarchids have been imagined as vulture-like scavengers, sediment probers, swimmers, waders, aerial predators, or stork-like generalists, most recent authors have regarded them as skim-feeders, trawling their lower jaws through water during flight and seizing aquatic prey from the water's surface. Although apparently widely accepted, the skim-feeding model lacks critical support from anatomy and functional morphology. Azhdarchids lack the many cranial specialisations exhibited by extant skim-feeding birds, most notably the laterally compressed lower jaw and shock absorbing apparatus required for this feeding style. Well-preserved azhdarchid skulls are rare, but their rostra and lower jaws appear to have been sub-triangular in cross-section, and thus dissimilar to those of skim-feeders and sediment probers. Taphonomic data indicates that azhdarchids predominately inhabited inland settings, and azhdarchid morphology indicates that they were poorly suited for all proposed lifestyles bar wading and terrestrial foraging. However, azhdarchid footprints show that their feet were relatively small, padded and slender, and thus not well suited for wading. We argue that azhdarchids were stork- or ground hornbill-like generalists, foraging in diverse environments for small animals and carrion. Proficient terrestrial abilities and a relatively inflexible neck are in agreement with this interpretation.
format	article
author	Mark P Witton Darren Naish
author_facet	Mark P Witton Darren Naish
author_sort	Mark P Witton
title	A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
title_short	A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
title_full	A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
title_fullStr	A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
title_full_unstemmed	A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
title_sort	reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2008
url	https://doaj.org/article/05ac38e85564425d8c5344269cc697fb
work_keys_str_mv	AT markpwitton areappraisalofazhdarchidpterosaurfunctionalmorphologyandpaleoecology AT darrennaish areappraisalofazhdarchidpterosaurfunctionalmorphologyandpaleoecology AT markpwitton reappraisalofazhdarchidpterosaurfunctionalmorphologyandpaleoecology AT darrennaish reappraisalofazhdarchidpterosaurfunctionalmorphologyandpaleoecology
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A reappraisal of azhdarchid pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology.

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