Could Pterosaurs Swim?

[Neosodon]

I'm not claiming that pteradon had an identical bill to a pelican. I'm just saying that a pelican is the most comparable live animal to a pteradon. But rather than engulf their prey with their massive pouches the shape of their beaks would funnel the water toward the back of their mouths then at the last second the pouch in the back of their mouth would expand sucking the fish in and securing the kill.  So the way a pteradon would hunt would still look similar to that of a pelican but the physics would be slightly different. If you have any better theories on pteradon hunting techniques feel free to share them.

[ImADinosaurRARR]

I personally feel that Pteranodons were divers. Like Mark Witton pointed out, Pteranodon and Rhamphorhynchus are out most numerous and well preserver pterosaurs, meaning that their life styles must have favoured preservation more than other sea fearing pterosaurs. Not only that, but we have found both of these animals in the jaws of fish, Pteranodon with shark teeth and Rhamphorhynchus in one of their mouths. To me, this is pretty good evidence that these animals spent a lot of time near the biting range of fish.

Now, that's just me. For others this wouldn't be enough and that's cool. But considering the evidence that Mark gave on his blog I'm pretty convinced ;P

[Neosodon]

I personally feel that Pteranodons were divers. Like Mark Witton pointed out, Pteranodon and Rhamphorhynchus are out most numerous and well preserver pterosaurs, meaning that their life styles must have favoured preservation more than other sea fearing pterosaurs. Not only that, but we have found both of these animals in the jaws of fish, Pteranodon with shark teeth and Rhamphorhynchus in one of their mouths. To me, this is pretty good evidence that these animals spent a lot of time near the biting range of fish.

Now, that's just me. For others this wouldn't be enough and that's cool. But considering the evidence that Mark gave on his blog I'm pretty convinced ;P

Some pterosaurs had huge teeth but Pteradon was not one of them.

[stargatedalek]

I personally feel that Pteranodons were divers. Like Mark Witton pointed out, Pteranodon and Rhamphorhynchus are out most numerous and well preserver pterosaurs, meaning that their life styles must have favoured preservation more than other sea fearing pterosaurs. Not only that, but we have found both of these animals in the jaws of fish, Pteranodon with shark teeth and Rhamphorhynchus in one of their mouths. To me, this is pretty good evidence that these animals spent a lot of time near the biting range of fish.

Now, that's just me. For others this wouldn't be enough and that's cool. But considering the evidence that Mark gave on his blog I'm pretty convinced ;P

Some pterosaurs had huge teeth but Pteradon was not one of them.

What? He never said anything about Pteranodon having teeth. Are you even bothering to read what anyone says or are you just assuming it's all different from what you want and so you're skimming it?

He's talking about how both Pteranodon and Rhamphorynchus have been found having been killed by fish.

[Dinoguy2]

I'm not claiming that pteradon had an identical bill to a pelican. I'm just saying that a pelican is the most comparable live animal to a pteradon. But rather than engulf their prey with their massive pouches the shape of their beaks would funnel the water toward the back of their mouths then at the last second the pouch in the back of their mouth would expand sucking the fish in and securing the kill.  So the way a pteradon would hunt would still look similar to that of a pelican but the physics would be slightly different. If you have any better theories on pteradon hunting techniques feel free to share them.

I see what you're saying but, with all due respect, what you're describing is not in any way pelican-like. There are numoerous birds with bill shape and possible feeding strategies that might more closely match Pteranodon and other large, toothless pterosaurs with long straight or slightly curved beaks. Also, don't fall into the trap of thinking that because a pelican is a famous pouched animal, all animals with pouches were like pelicans. Lots of animals use pouches for things other than getting food, like display. A (still unpublished) specimen of Tarbosaurus apparently had a pouch. I don't think anybody would say tyrannosaurs acted like pelicans!

Actually, now that I think of it, there are animals with long, flattened beaks where the upper beak is longer than the lower beak... maybe pteranodonts weren't only divers, maybe they fed like swordfish!

[ZoPteryx]

I'm of the opinion that Pteranodon was a plunge diver in the same class as terns or non-gannet sulids.  Their long pointed beaks look adapted for piercing the water at a steep angle, the long overbite of large individuals could be an adaptation to breaking surface tension before the main body hits.  This could also explain why small individuals seem to have stuck to the shallows while large adults were more pelagic; the adults needed deeper water to dive into effectively and they'd be less likely to be attacked by predators, though that certainly did happen on occasion.

I have trouble envisioning the toothy species of pterodactyloids feeding in that manner without breaking their thin teeth.  They were probably snatching prey from the surface without diving in any meaningful way.  Their long beaks gave them good enough reach.  Those with exceptional numbers of teeth or especially long teeth probably waded for smaller prey in some fashion.

[Neosodon]

I personally feel that Pteranodons were divers. Like Mark Witton pointed out, Pteranodon and Rhamphorhynchus are out most numerous and well preserver pterosaurs, meaning that their life styles must have favoured preservation more than other sea fearing pterosaurs. Not only that, but we have found both of these animals in the jaws of fish, Pteranodon with shark teeth and Rhamphorhynchus in one of their mouths. To me, this is pretty good evidence that these animals spent a lot of time near the biting range of fish.

Now, that's just me. For others this wouldn't be enough and that's cool. But considering the evidence that Mark gave on his blog I'm pretty convinced ;P

Some pterosaurs had huge teeth but Pteradon was not one of them.

What? He never said anything about Pteranodon having teeth. Are you even bothering to read what anyone says or are you just assuming it's all different from what you want and so you're skimming it?

He's talking about how both Pteranodon and Rhamphorynchus have been found having been killed by fish.

I thought you meant pteradon actually had teeth like a shark.

I'm not comparing pelicans and pteraodons just because they both have a pouch. Pelicans are the largest flying birds that hunt fish at sea so they are the only animals today that remotely resemble a pteradon. So basically it seems like their are two general ideas on how pteradon hunted. A surface ambush hunter or a deep sea diver.

Actually, now that I think of it, there are animals with long, flattened beaks where the upper beak is longer than the lower beak... maybe pteranodonts weren't only divers, maybe they fed like swordfish!

I'm not trying to put your idea down. I think pterosasaurs were believed to be strictly aquatic reptiles when they were first discovered. But pteradon being able to swim around and hunt like sword fish does not really fit it's anatomy. Here is what highly capable aquatic birds look like.







Some of them will just tuck their wings in and just use their large webbed feet to paddle. Penguins have small flipper like wings. They have smallish beaks and heads with streamline bodies. None of that describes a pteradon. Pteradon had huge wings and a huge head. Their bodies were the exact opposite of what you would expect to see on a fast nimble marine hunter and allot more comparable to what you would expect to see of a surface ambush hunter like pelicans.

[ZoPteryx]

I'm not comparing pelicans and pteraodons just because they both have a pouch. Pelicans are the largest flying birds that hunt fish at sea so they are the only animals today that remotely resemble a pteradon. So basically it seems like their are two general ideas on how pteradon hunted. A surface ambush hunter or a deep sea diver.

What about albatross?

Some of them will just tuck their wings in and just use their large webbed feet to paddle. Penguins have small flipper like wings. They have smallish beaks and heads with streamline bodies. None of that describes a pteradon. Pteradon had huge wings and a huge head. Their bodies were the exact opposite of what you would expect to see on a fast nimble marine hunter and allot more comparable to what you would expect to see of a surface ambush hunter like pelicans.

Large wings are moot because, like you said, they can just be tucked in.  That's what shearwaters do and they can dive to considerable depths by flapping.

I do agree though that Pteranodon's (and most pterosaurs') oversized head would make maneuvering underwater pretty tricky, and Pteranodon lacks the large webbed feet one would expect.  Taken in total, I agree with you that Pteranodon was likely more restricted to surface waters than deep dives, though we may disagree on the methods. 

[Neosodon]

I'm not comparing pelicans and pteraodons just because they both have a pouch. Pelicans are the largest flying birds that hunt fish at sea so they are the only animals today that remotely resemble a pteradon. So basically it seems like their are two general ideas on how pteradon hunted. A surface ambush hunter or a deep sea diver.

What about albatross?

Some of them will just tuck their wings in and just use their large webbed feet to paddle. Penguins have small flipper like wings. They have smallish beaks and heads with streamline bodies. None of that describes a pteradon. Pteradon had huge wings and a huge head. Their bodies were the exact opposite of what you would expect to see on a fast nimble marine hunter and allot more comparable to what you would expect to see of a surface ambush hunter like pelicans.

Large wings are moot because, like you said, they can just be tucked in.  That's what shearwaters do and they can dive to considerable depths by flapping.

I do agree though that Pteranodon's (and most pterosaurs') oversized head would make maneuvering underwater pretty tricky, and Pteranodon lacks the large webbed feet one would expect.  Taken in total, I agree with you that Pteranodon was likely more restricted to surface waters than deep dives, though we may disagree on the methods. 

Well, Pelicans and Albatrosses.

I mentioned this in an earlier post but pterosaurs cannot tuck in their wings. Birds can actually shrink down their wing span by overlapping their feathers. Pterosaurs can only fold them. If pteradon could tuck it's wings in it would not have large enough feet to power itself through the water so it doesn't really matter that much. But it is nice we've come to an understanding on something.

[Dinoguy2]

I'm not comparing pelicans and pteraodons just because they both have a pouch. Pelicans are the largest flying birds that hunt fish at sea so they are the only animals today that remotely resemble a pteradon. So basically it seems like their are two general ideas on how pteradon hunted. A surface ambush hunter or a deep sea diver.

What about albatross?

Some of them will just tuck their wings in and just use their large webbed feet to paddle. Penguins have small flipper like wings. They have smallish beaks and heads with streamline bodies. None of that describes a pteradon. Pteradon had huge wings and a huge head. Their bodies were the exact opposite of what you would expect to see on a fast nimble marine hunter and allot more comparable to what you would expect to see of a surface ambush hunter like pelicans.

Large wings are moot because, like you said, they can just be tucked in.  That's what shearwaters do and they can dive to considerable depths by flapping.

I do agree though that Pteranodon's (and most pterosaurs') oversized head would make maneuvering underwater pretty tricky, and Pteranodon lacks the large webbed feet one would expect.  Taken in total, I agree with you that Pteranodon was likely more restricted to surface waters than deep dives, though we may disagree on the methods. 

Well, Pelicans and Albatrosses.

I mentioned this in an earlier post but pterosaurs cannot tuck in their wings. Birds can actually shrink down their wing span by overlapping their feathers. Pterosaurs can only fold them. If pteradon could tuck it's wings in it would not have large enough feet to power itself through the water so it doesn't really matter that much. But it is nice we've come to an understanding on something.

Sure pterosaurs could tuck in their wings, just not the way birds do. The actinofinrils made the membrane highly elastic and pterosaurs had very fine control over its shape. They could make adjustments to the wing chord the same way birds adjust the wing slotting between their feathers.

I'm not saying big pterosaurs acted like aquatic birds, just that the adaptations swordfish use (quick swipes of the beak stun groups of fish) could be used by shallow divers or even surface hunters too.

As for pelicans, yes they're large, but resemblance to Pteranodon ends there. It's just a superficial similarity, not anatomical. Pelicans have long necks, long flat bills with hooked tips, and flexible lower jaws. Pteranodon had a short neck, long sword-shaped bill, and rigid jaws. Pelicans have fish-net jaws and hunting strategy unlike any known pterosaur.

[BlueKrono]

Actinofinril? Even Google's stumped on that one.

[Dinoguy2]

Actinofinril? Even Google's stumped on that one.

Sorry, writing on my phone isn't easy on this board! Should be actinofibrils of course, one of the most famous and important features that make pterosaurs unique compared to other flying vertebrates.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090804-pterosaurs-wings-fossil-hairs.html

[BlueKrono]

Actinofinril? Even Google's stumped on that one.

Sorry, writing on my phone isn't easy on this board! Should be actinofibrils of course, one of the most famous and important features that make pterosaurs unique compared to other flying vertebrates.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090804-pterosaurs-wings-fossil-hairs.html

Ah, I suppose that makes sense. People here sure know a lot of anatomy which I never learned even majoring in environmental biology!

[ImADinosaurRARR]

Ah, I suppose that makes sense. People here sure know a lot of anatomy which I never learned even majoring in environmental biology!

Same. I never learned about it ether. however, It's kinda' a hobby of mine to make up animals through speculative evolution and stuff. The Speculative Evolution forum is a grate place to go if your interested. They like to create exoplanets and future creatures and they're just as critical about bad anatomy as we are here ;p They also have a monthly competition which is fun.