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Science 7 March 1997:
Vol. 275. no. 5305, pp. 1450 - 1452
DOI: 10.1126/science.275.5305.1450
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Reports

Gliding Mechanism in the Late Permian Reptile Coelurosauravus

Eberhard Frey, Hans-Dieter Sues, * Wolfgang Munk

A complete skeleton of the oldest known flying reptile, Coelurosauravus jaekeli, from the Upper Permian of Germany, and reexamination of other specimens demonstrate that this animal had a gliding apparatus unlike that of any other tetrapod. The lateral gliding membrane was supported by radially disposed, greatly elongated bony rods of dermal origin in the thoracolumbar region, rather than by internal skeletal elements such as ribs and limb bones. The rods are independent of the ribcage and arranged in distinct bundles to form a cambered wing.

E. Frey and W. Munk, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Erbprinzenstrasse 13, D-76133 Karlsruhe, Germany.
H.-D. Sues, Department of Palaeobiology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, and Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G5, Canada. E-mail: hdsues{at}rom.on.ca
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

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