wiz-icon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

It can be inferred from the passage that scientists now generally agree that the:

A

Enormous wingspan of the pterosaurs enabled them to fly great distances

No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
B

Structure of the skeleton of the pterosaurs suggests a close evolutionary relationship to bats

No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
C

Fossil remains of the pterosaurs reveal how they solved the problem of powered flight

No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
D

Pterosaurs were reptiles

Right on! Give the BNAT exam to get a 100% scholarship for BYJUS courses
Open in App
Solution

The correct option is D

Pterosaurs were reptiles


The first line of the second paragraph states that “Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Furthermore, throughout the passage, the author has suggested evidences which prove the resemblances of pterosaurs with the entire clan of reptiles, thus making answer option (d) the correct answer choice.


flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
0
similar_icon
Similar questions
Q.

Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

The fossil remains of the first flying vertebrates, the pterosaurs, have intrigued paleontologists for more than two centuries. How such large creatures, which weighed in some cases as much as a piloted hang glider and had wingspans from 8 to 12 meters, solved the problems of powered flight, and exactly what these creatures were—reptiles or birds—are among the questions scientists have puzzled over.

Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises, and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their wings suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In pterosaurs a greatly elongated fourth finger of each forelimb supported a wing-like membrane. The other fingers were short and reptilian, with sharp claws. In birds the second finger is the principal strut of the wing, which consists primarily of feathers. If the pterosaurs walked on all fours, the three short fingers may have been employed for grasping. When a pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger, and with it the wing, could only turn upward in an extended inverted V-shape along each side of the animal’s body.

Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. T. H. Huxley reasoned that flying vertebrates must have been warm-blooded because flying implies a high rate of metabolism, which in turn implies a high internal temperature. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. The recent discovery of a pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense, and relatively thick hairlike fossil material was the first clear evidence that his reasoning was correct.

According to the passage, why did the pterosaurs have hairy coats?


View More
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
Introduction
BIOLOGY
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon