What kinds of dinosaurs could fly?

Dinosaurs

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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

When most people think of a “flying dinosaur,” they are thinking of a pterodactyl. Although they might look like flying dinosaurs, pterodactyls (and other members of the pterosaur family) are actually not dinosaurs at all! – Technically, pterosaurs are considered flying reptiles, and they are often confused with dinosaurs because they lived at the same time.

One prehistoric animal that is sometimes considered a “flying dinosaur” is the Archaeopteryx. Archaeologists believe that Archaeopteryx had feathers like modern-day birds and a special toe that would have allowed it to hold on to a tree branch. In addition to Archaeopteryx, there are other fossils, such as those of Anchiornis, which are believed to belong to types of dinosaurs that had feathers that may or may not have been used for flight. – Archaeologists don’t know for sure whether or not any of these winged or feathered dinosaurs were able to use these features for flight, but even if not for flying, many guess that they were otherwise used for things like gliding.

As more and more fossils are uncovered, it’s likely that we’ll continue to get new discoveries about cool types of dinosaurs – winged, feathered, flying, and otherwise!

Dino Time!

Have you ever been to a museum where you were able to see dinosaur fossils? If so, what did you think about them? Were most of the dinosaurs you saw bigger or smaller than what you had expected?

Which dinosaurs that you’ve learned about are your favorites, and why?

Posted by Anjali25 on 2011-02-21 17:13:33

AMAZING. Ptero isn't actually a dinosaur! Everyone acts like it is. Thanks for clearing that up! We love dinosaurs in this house =) =)