Paleontologist Mark Whitton from the University of Portsmouth (UK) has prepared a book for publication with the laconic title "Pterosaurs"
Science is science, but a specialist sometimes wants to dream up: what if pterosaurs survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, where could they be seen today? How would they adapt to the ubiquity of humans? Maybe they would live in cities instead of sparrows and pigeons? Attack us?
First, Mr. Whitton recalls that by the end of the Cretaceous, only two branches of pterosaurs remained: the Azhdarchids and Nikyzaurs. About them will be discussed.
We would come across wild pterosaurs quite often. The same Azhdarchids in the Cretaceous period were probably absent only in Antarctica. Fossils are mostly preserved in continental freshwater sediments, and if they are marine sediments, it is usually with mixed land and marine biota. All this suggests that these were universal animals capable of living in different places with different climates, mainly on land.
Some types of azhdarchids are found literally all over the world. With a 10-meter wingspan, they, according to some versions, could reach speeds of up to 100 km / h or more. It is also believed that they were able to stay in the air for so long that they could fly half the world without falling to the ground.
On the contrary, Nykosaurs would be much less common. Their remains are mainly concentrated in America, and exclusively in deep marine sediments, that is, they spent a significant part of their time over the ocean. This hypothesis is confirmed by anatomy: firstly, indecently small legs; second, the loss of three small fingers that helped with walking. Conversely, the ossified tendons of the forearm in some specimens indicate an enormous and continuous load on the wings. So today they would be seen mostly by fishermen and sailors.
The question of what and how the Azhdarchids ate remains controversial. Mr. Whitton believes that relatively small inhabitants of low thickets became their prey, as evidenced by the long jaws and neck. The modern diet of the Azhdarchids would practically not differ from the menu of the Cretaceous period: small reptiles, amphibians and mammals.
The jaws of the Azhdarchids are equipped with rather wide adaptations, so it cannot be ruled out that they did not disdain carrion, like modern giant storks (for example, marabou). And since we're scary slobs and produce more food than we can eat, pterosaurs would have plenty of food. Probably everyone saw how crows and seagulls dig in heaps of garbage. It is easy to assume that some Azhdarchids would live in cities and feast in landfills (if they could compete with other "flying rats").
It should be noted that entire warehouses of the Azhdarchids' skeletons were repeatedly discovered, that is, they probably huddled in flocks.
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In terms of size, pterosaurs tended to grow - later species are larger than early ones. Most likely, they would not only defeat the pigeons and sparrows, but they would also eat all the stray dogs and cats. Just imagine: one of the largest azhdarchids Hatzegopteryx (the one with a 10-meter span) had an extremely strong jaw structure, which was, moreover, half a meter in diameter. The jaw width of another giant, Thalassodromeus, was 160 mm wide and 700–800 mm long.
Mr. Whitton goes on to provide a variety of evidence that Hatzegopteryx's anatomy would have allowed him to swallow a human without difficulty. And they, most likely, swallowed food whole, as evidenced, for example, by the discovery of a young Rhamphorhynchus with fish inside.
So it's probably a good thing that they became extinct.
Photo: science.compulenta.ru