JB012629
27 Oct 1999, Munich, Germany --- This Pterodactylus antiquus was found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, Germany. In 1784, naturalist Cosimo Alessandro Collini published a description of this pterosaur, but could not come to a definitive conclusion about its identity. Nearly two decades later, Georges Cuvier correctly speculated that this curious reptile could fly. He named it Pterodactylus, meaning "winged finger," after the extended digit that supported each wing. Pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to take to the skies, were thought to be cold-blooded, awkward gliders. Recent fossil evidence, however, shows possible hair-like structures much like the feathers of modern birds. Pterosaurs may have had a warm-blooded metabolism (also called endothermic, or heat generating). Paleontologists credit pterosaurs as agile fliers with uncommon airborne hunting abilities. Pterosaurs used a variet --- Image by © Jonathan Blair/Corbis
