Can’t fly, but looks great – how vanity grounded this big-headed pterosaur
Good looks seem to have trumped the ability to fly, according to fossil finds of a pterosaur which evolution grounded some 100+ million years ago.
Back in 2013, police in Brazil seized 30,000 smuggled fossils, and among these Portuguese palaeontologists from the NOVA University in Lisbon found a complete fossil of the Tupandactylus navigans pterosaur that existed 145-100 million years ago. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles, but according to the new research it seems that this particular species developed such a large head over time that it had to give up life in the air and return to the ground.
The scientists studied the pterosaur fossil by taking CT scans and then reconstructing its skeleton in a 3D model that demonstrates the creature's body build in detail.
The studies revealed that the species had a surprisingly long neck which comprised more than half of the reptile’s entire spinal column. The scientists estimate that it would have been very difficult for such a long neck to support the large head during flight.
The large head growth must have looked impressive, and undoubtedly the aim of this ‘comb’ was to attract mates. A tall outgrowth of bone tissue rose above the pterosaur's head, with a coxcomb of soft tissue stretching from the growth, almost like a sail flying from a mast. The surprise to scientists is that the comb became so important in the passing on of genes to the next generation that it ultimately outcompeted the pterosaur’s ability to fly.
The scientists compare the development to the evolution of peacocks, where the attraction of impressive tail feathers has also become more important than the ability to fly well. Like a peacock, the pterosaur may have been able to fly just enough to get high into a tree when it needed to escape enemies, but otherwise it seems to have spent almost all of its time on the ground.
The 3D model demonstrates that the species had developed relatively long legs and shorter forelimbs than other pterosaurs. This could be an additional adaptation to life on the ground, so that it moved about on four limbs – unlike bird species today that now spend their lives on the ground. From fossil footprints, palaeontologists know that other pterosaurs also supported their gait with their wings as they moved about on the ground.