Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Benson RB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3988819 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Benson Roger B J RB Frigot Rachel A RA Goswami Anjali A Andres Brian B Butler Richard J RJ
Nature communications 20140402
The pterosaurs, Mesozoic flying reptiles, attained wingspans of more than 10 m that greatly exceed the largest birds and challenge our understanding of size limits in flying animals. Pterosaurs have been used to illustrate Cope's rule, the influential generalization that evolutionary lineages trend to increasingly large body sizes. However, unambiguous examples of Cope's rule operating on extended timescales in large clades remain elusive, and the phylogenetic pattern and possible drivers of pte ...[more]