How Dinosaurs Took Flight: Quadcopter-like reptiles, "reverse birds," and their descendants

 Dinosaurs, their precursors and closest relatives—including pterosaurs—are among the most extraordinary animals in the entire history of the Earth. Neither before nor since have creatures of such immense size walked on land or taken to the air. And yet the emergence of these vertebrates was a natural outcome of the evolution of life, rather than the result of any unusual conditions, such as an anomalous atmospheric composition or the planet “swelling” to “dinosaur-sized” proportions.

Perhaps the rise of the dinosaurs was driven by their persistent evolutionary “aspiration” toward flight. Even long-necked, long-tailed sauropods developed certain bird-like features. Many predatory dinosaurs grew feathers, became warm-blooded, and eventually took to the skies as well. Through the stories of eighteen very different Mesozoic reptiles and Cenozoic birds, we will explore how dinosaurs emerged—and how they became birds.

Andrey Zhuravlev is a paleontologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and author of several popular science books, including The Creation of the Earth: How Living Organisms Made Our World, The Adventures of Species: Vampire Squid, Spider-Tailed Creatures, and Other Transitional Forms in Animal Evolution, and As If Alive: Two-Legged Snakes, Zombie Sharks, and Other Extinct Animals. He is also a recipient of the Russian Academy of Sciences Prize for the best work in science communication.