It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a dinosaur? Nope to all of the above. This Fossil Friday, let’s talk about pterosaurs—the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight. Though they were related to dinosaurs, pterosaurs evolved on a separate branch of the reptile family tree. They ruled the skies for more than 150 million years, evolving into dozens of different species. Some were as small as a paper airplane while others, like Pteranodon pictured here in the Museum’s Hall of Late Dinosaurs circa 1940-1960, had a wingspan of more than 20 feet (6 m).

Photo: Image no. ptc-217 © AMNH Library
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