Exploring the limits of wing design in pterosaurs

Abstract

Wing shape is integrally related to flight performance and function in extant animals. Analyzing this relationship in pterosaurs is complicated by the fragmentary nature of the fossil record and because the flight dimensions of wing membranes do not preserve. In the absence of fully extended pterosaur wing fossils, scientific reconstruction of the pterosaur Bauplan presents the clearest alternative for analysis. However, these wing shapes are subject to multiple conflicting scientific opinions and the artistic styles of the researchers and illustrators reconstructing them. Here we test the functional ramifications of different wing-shape reconstructions. We use theoretical morphospace analysis to establish whether modern reconstructions of pterosaur wings exhibit the diversification and functional performance expected of living animals. Pterosaur wing reconstructions show little by way of taxonomic separation either in shapespace or functional performance, with all pterosaur groups overlapping independent of time, size or proposed niche. This suggests that published pterosaur reconstructions underestimate the diversity of wing shapes expected of such a diverse group and are not reflective of flying animals. Stylistic approaches have little effect on the occupation and diversity of pterosaur reconstructions, suggesting that the underpinning issues lie in the lack of scientific consensus on the shape and structure of the wings, rather than how they are reconstructed.