The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-05-26

scribed, was two feet and a half long
and set vertically. Presumably it was
attached by muscular hgaments to the
back of the animal, serving as bal
ance for the great beak, hut undoubt-
eddy, also, it was intended to operate
as q iudder.
This creature. whose bat-like wings
were fastened at the lower end to its
ankles, must have walked on land with
extreme awkwardness. Lacking steer
ing apparatus behind. IN the absence
OF a tail. it was obliged when it few to
utilize the rudder IN 'front.' When II
wished to change its course through
the air, il simply turned its head in the
requisite direction, and away it went on
a new tack.
Such a method of fight would surely
have been most interesting to watch.
and might we'll have Afforded (if only
they could have had chance to see it,
valuable material for study to modern
experiments in aerial navigation.
During the Age of Chalk, which sci
entists call the Cretaceous when the
pteranodon was alive and fed on fishes,
a vast inland sea covered all the region
that is now western Kansas. over the
sea, which was quite shallow, the wing
ed reptiles few, seeking their prey, and
it is evident that they were strong
flyers for their remains have been
found hundreds of miles from the an
cient shore-line, which may still be
clearly traced.
Active But Stupid Creatures
Il IL
that they were extremely stupid Great
ures. Though so alert and active. they
could not have had much more intelli-
gence than modern alligators. their
near relatives fact inferred from
the circumstance that the brain of
even so gigantic a specimen as that at
Yale, judging from the size of the skull
cavity. was no bigger than a, New Eng
land chestnut.
In regard to pterodactyls in general
L. =,
recently than was hitherto known.
Their anatomical structure has been
figured out in detail, and even their
habits have come to be pretty well I'M
derstood Undoubtedly they laid eggs.
as birds do, but it is not likely that
they built nests of any sort.
The female may have scratched a
hole in a sandy beach wherein to de-
post her eggs, as the turtle does, but
the chances are that she simply laid
them in an open spot on the shore,
and left them to be Matched by the
heat of the sun. That orb, it should
be realized, was the first incubator
lamp.
The eggs of the maternal pterano-
don must have been surprisingly
small judging from the size of the
pelvic aperture. Indeed, their dame
ter could not have been much greater
than that of a lead pencil. How
strange that seems when one reflects
upon it! Just think of Matching
from an egg less in size than a boys
marble a reptile destined to have a
wing spread of twenty-five feet!
Their Ribs Ended in Fingers.
However, the shell was probably
soft, like that of a turtles egg, and
maybe 1t could be squeezed a bit in
! laying. One can imagine that the
/ creature, when first it saw the world,
must have been helpless enough, and
a prey to numerous enemies. That the
/ mother pterOdactyI took care of her
queer brood, or protected her off
spring in any way, is unlikely How
they managed to get food during the
/ period of infancy is a puzzle, but pre-
sumably they fed on mollusks, sand
bugs and other small fry along the
/ beach.
The pterodactyls get their name
| from the fact that their wings, which
were membranous were extended, like
an umbrella on its ribs, upon the
| fingers of the creatures hands. Anat-
omically speaking, the main upper rib
| of each wing was the little finger.
Think of little finger six feet in
length, If you pleased These animals
had hollow bones, and their skeletons
were more lightly and delicately con
structed than those Of any birds In
flight they must have been extremely
graceful, and. though rather gro
| tesque than beautiful, they doubtless
contributed much to the picturesque
ness of Cretaceous landscapes as they
scared high in air or skinned over
| the surface of the water.