A paleontologist said on Thursday

Sep 9, 2005 19:39 GMT  ·  By

According to Reuters, the giant reptiles that flew above the earth until about 65 million years ago could have grown to twice the size originally thought with wingspans of at least 18 meters.

Dr David Martill of the University of Portsmouth in southern England, said his research on pterosaur wings appeared to solve the problem of how such enormous creatures managed to take to the skies and stay there.

Recent fossil finds in Mexico and Israel added weight to the theory that this prehistoric, flying reptile, which became extinct at the same time as the dinosaurs, could have been much bigger than many had realized.

Martill said fellow academic and collaborator Dr Eberhard "Dino" Frey of the Natural History museum in Karlsruhe, Germany, had recently found distinctive fossilized footprints in Mexico pointing to a creature with a wingspan "in excess of 18 meters (60 ft)."

As for why they grew so big, it could have been a function of age: "One of the reasons might be that they just kept on growing," rather than reaching an adult size when growth stops.

This week, Softpedia News enters the Battle of Browsers. Which do you think is the best browser? Vote for your favorite browser.