A GIANT pterosaur that lived near the end of the dinosaur age in Romania flew thanks to a puffy skull. Hatzegopteryx had a wingspan of 12 metres, and its heavy-looking skull was a monster 3 metres across, raising questions about how it got off the ground. Now Eric Buffetaut of the CNRS research institute in Paris says the key to its flight was very light bones (Naturwissenschaften, DOI 10.1007/s00114-002-0307-1). Thin bony walls separated empty space in a skull that was “more or less expanded polystyrene”, he says.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New 女生小视频
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Physics
Odd 鈥渂utterfly鈥 molecule could lead to new parts of the quantum realm
News
Technology
The future of robot armies is here 鈥 and it鈥檚 not what you think
Comment
Humans
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
News
Mind
Floatation tanks deployed to combat PTSD after devastating wildfires
News
Popular articles
Trending New 女生小视频 articles
1
The 鈥榙oomsday鈥 glacier鈥檚 giant ice shelf is about to break away
2
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
3
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
4
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
5
The 3 things you need to know about protein, according to an expert
6
SpaceX is about to launch tallest and most powerful rocket in history
7
What is love? Even a meeting on the subject can't find the answer
8
Odd 鈥渂utterfly鈥 molecule could lead to new parts of the quantum realm
9
The future of robot armies is here 鈥 and it鈥檚 not what you think
10
Where did the laws of physics come from? I think I've found the answer
