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Table of Contents - Special Paper 376

Posture, Locomotion, and Paleoecology of Pterosaurs

by Sankar Chatterjee and R. J. Templin


Abstract 1
Introduction 2
Materials and Methods 4
  Institutional Abbreviations 5
Terrestrial Locomotion 7
  Stance and Gait 7
  Forelimb Joints 9
  Hip Joint 9
  Knee Joint 11
  Ankle Joint 11
  Pedal Stance 11
  Trackways 11
  Quadrupedal Walking 12
  Bipedal Running 13
Wing Design 14
  Comparative Morphology of the Wing 14
    Wing Geometry 16
    Camber 18
    Wingtips 20
    Actinofibrils 20
    Hair 22
Wing Adaptations for Powered Flight 23
  Skeletal Elements 23
  Wing Joints 23
  Flight Muscles 26
  Stability and Neural Control 28
Aerodynamic Constraints 28
  Mass 29
  Wing Area and Wing Span 31
  Aspect Ratio 31
  Wing Loading 31
  Weight 31
    Aerodynamic Performance Estimation 31
Gliding and Soaring 39
  Gliding 39
  Soaring 42
Hovering and Flapping 44
  Power Required and Power Available 44
  Hovering Flight 46
  Steady Level Flight 46
  Formation Flight 46
Takeoff and Landing 48
  Takeoff 48
  Landing 53
Sexual Dimorphism and Aerodynamic Function of the Head 53
  Sexual Dimorphism 54
  Thermoregulation 55
  Aerial Turns 55
Ecology, Evolution, and Extinction 55
  Ecology 56
  Origin and Evolution 57
  Body Size 58
  Extinction 60
Acknowledgments 61
References Cited 61