TPO 47 Pterosaurs were an ancient group of winged reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs Many pterosaurs were very large some as large as a giraffe and with a wingspan of over 12 meters Paleontologists have long wondered whether large pterosaurs w

The reading and the lecture are both about Pterosaurs, which is an ancient reptiles with wings. While the author of the passage argues that Pterosaurs were not able to fly by flapping their wings, and they were able only to glide, the professor disputes this claim. She states that recent research and evidence show that these animals could actually fly by flapping their wings. The lecturer casts doubt on the main points made in the reading by providing three controversial reasons.

In the passage, the author begins by saying that Pterosaurs, like other modern reptiles, were cold-blooded, which means they had a slow metabolism and may not have had enough energy to fly by flapping their wings. However, the professor disagrees with this idea. She asserts that recent discoveries and fossils of Pterosaurs show that these animals had fur covering on their body; therefore, they might have been warm-blooded because only warm-blooded animals have hair and fur on their bodies in order to keep their body warm. As a result, they had adequate energy to fly.

Furthermore, according to the reading passage, Pterosaurs were too heavy to be able to fly by flapping their wings. On the other hand, the professor points out that these animals were unusually light. Foundings show that Pterosarus' bones were hollow, not solid. Consequently, they had light weight and were capable of flying by flapping their wings.

Finally, the writer believes that Pterosaurs had small and weak back leg muscles and could not fly since powered flight animals (animals fly by flapping their wings), like birds, have to run or use their legs to jump before flying. Not surprisingly, the professor refutes this assertion by contending that there is a big difference between Pterosaurs and birds. Birds use their two limbs to walk on the ground, but Pterosaurs, like bats, use their four limbs to walk on the ground. They used all four limbs to gain the required speed or to jump before flying.

All in all, both the lecturer and the author hold conflicting views on whether Pterosaurs were capable of powered flight or not.