Jonathan Richman - I'm A Little Dinosaur
Posted on 06/14/2019 8:58:45 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Previously, pterodactyls were thought to only be able to take to the air once they had grown to almost full size, just like birds or bats. This assumption was based on fossilised embryos of the creatures found in China that had poorly developed wings...
Another fundamental difference between baby pterodactyls, also known as flaplings, and baby birds or bats, is that they had no parental care and had to feed and look after themselves from birth. Their ability to fly gave them a lifesaving survival mechanism which they used to evade carnivorous dinosaurs. This ability also proved to be one of their biggest killers, as the demanding and dangerous process of flight led to many of them dying at a very early age.
The research has also challenged the current view that pterodactyls behaved in a similar way to birds and bats and has provided possible answers to some key questions surrounding these animals. Since flaplings were able to both fly and grow from birth, this provides a possible explanation as to why they were able to reach enormous wingspans, far larger than any historic or current species of bird or bat. How they were able to carry out this process will require further research, but it is a question that wouldn't have been posed without these recent developments in our understanding.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
In before the moronic "settled science" comments.
Noah could have seen them fly.
Translation:
"We used Grant #1 to dream up a set of "facts" which beg a follow-on question which neatly justifies our request for Grant #2."
“assumption”
:: fossilized embryos of the creatures found in China ::
And, to prove it, the Chinese scientists fashioned a “dinosaur” out of the rocks and tossed them into the sky. Chinese news agencies reported that they immediately achieved sustained flight and traveled approximately 30 meters.
Scientists. What can’t they theorize?
I was going to say “video or it didn’t happen” but it looks like you found it!
A tenet of the Theory of Evolution is "Isolation breeds gigantism."
“Baby pterodactyls could fly from birth”
We have video.
‘glide’ would be a more accurate description, I think
How could they possibly know this?
Maybe it’s just an educated guess.
So, then, I will make a guess too; The pterodactyls would benefit from learning to fly early, because they very soon became massively heavy. If you don’t know how to fly before you weigh a quarter ton, then it’s too late. You will wander about the plains, flightless and earthbound as an Emu until something eats you or until you run out of food.
“... You will wander about the plains, flightless and earthbound as an Emu until something eats you or until you run out of food....”
Sounds the text of a curse made by an old grizzled wizard in a sword and sorcery novel... :^)!!!
...as recently so dubbed by one of the guys on the project, no doubt. The OED shows no extant uses of that made-up word in the literature. Note how it coincidentally aligns with their deceptively appealing, new claim.
Harry Potter type dialog.
Spoken while staring at a brightly glowing orb.
The discovery of more advanced embryos in China and Argentina that died just before they hatched provided the evidence that pterodactyls had the ability to fly from birth. Dr David Unwin said: “Theoretically what pterosaurs did, growing and flying, is impossible, but they didn’t know this, so they did it anyway.” Cause I said so!
Another fundamental difference between baby pterodactyls, also known as flaplings, and baby birds or bats, is that they had no parental care and had to feed and look after themselves from birth. They were clearly abandoned because... Oh yeah, because I said so!
For my next grant I will be discussing Global Warming because....
actually I think it was confirmed on an episode of the Flintstones ...
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