How small were some pterosaurs?

Pterodactylus had a wing span 40 cm across. This means that it would have been a fast and agile flyer.

Did pterosaurs have feathers?

Pterosaurs did not have feather, because their large wings were more like those of a bat than a bird. However, pterosaurs did have fur! Fossils have shown that the body of many types was densely covered with hair, and even the wings were lightly furred. This seems to suggest that pterosaurs were warm-blooded, as there would be no point in the body of a cold-blooded creature, such as a modern reptile, being insulated.

Did pterosaurs evolve into birds?

Despite their apparent similarities, pterosaurs were quite different in structure to birds, and they never developed the powerful breast muscles needed to beat their wings in the same way as birds. Similarly, they could not fold their wings away like modern birds, so would always have been clumsy when moving on the ground.

How did pterosaurs fly?

Scientists used to think that pterosaurs were unable to flap their wings and fly like a bird. Instead they probably launched themselves off cliffs and glided on upward currents of air. More recently it has been suggested that pterosaurs were actually very efficient flyers. Some of the smallest types would not have been effective gliders and must have fluttered their wings like modern birds. This would not have been possible for the giants, which must have been pure gliders.

Picture credit: google