# Pterosaur Landing Fossil Found!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 19, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974 "2009-08-19T18:12:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974/1 "2009-08-19T18:12:35Z")

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[http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090819/sc\_livescience/prehistoricrunwayusedbyflyingreptile](http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090819/sc_livescience/prehistoricrunwayusedbyflyingreptile)

> [@](#):
>
> A prehistoric runway for flying pterosaurs has been discovered for the first time.
> 
> Scientists uncovered the first known landing tracks of one of these extinct flying reptiles at a site dubbed “Pterosaur Beach,” in the fine-grained limestone deposits of an ancient lagoon in southwestern France dating back some 140 million years ago to the Late Jurassic.
> 
> The footprints suggest the pterosaur - a “pterodactyloid” with a wingspan roughly three feet wide (one meter) - flapped to stall its flight during landing, and then planted both its two-inch-long feet (five cm) simultaneously at a high angle.
> 
> The reptile next dragged its toes briefly, took a short “stutter step” - perhaps a hop with both feet - and landed, settling its hands. It finally adjusted its posture and ambled off normally on all fours.
> 
> “No other trackways ascribed to pterosaurs in the world have shown either landings or takeoffs,” said researcher Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at the University of California at Berkeley.

Incredibly cool!

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**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974/2 "2009-08-19T18:25:32Z")

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Thanks for sharing that.

Wish it had pictures.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974/3 "2009-08-19T18:31:00Z")

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The Yahoo link had a picture of a pterosaur (not the fossil), although it’s not clear that it’s associated with that article:

[![](http://l.yimg.com/a/i/ww/news/2009/08/19/081909runway.jpg) ](http://l.yimg.com/a/i/ww/news/2009/08/19/081909runway.jpg)

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pterosaur-landing-fossil-found/506974/4 "2009-08-19T18:49:47Z")

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> [@From link](#):
>
> The reptile next dragged its toes briefly, took a short “stutter step” - perhaps a hop with both feet - and landed, settling its hands. It finally adjusted its posture and ambled off normally on all fours.

So how did he land when he hadn’t been drinking?  
🙂

Cool link, thanks!