Sharovipteryx
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Sharovipteryx ("Sharov's wing", previously known as Podopteryx, "foot wing"), was among the earliest gliding reptiles, from the early Triassic period. It may have been an ancestor of the pterosaurs, though its membrane depended more on its long back legs than its very short front limbs. This archosauromorph was approximately eight inches long, with an extremely long tail, and weighed about 7.5 grams.
If this was an ancestor of pterosaurs, then its membrane may have stretched to its front legs, or it may have had a separate membrane joined to its front limbs alone. Some scenarios have it as a leaping animal, which would spring up in the air and then control its fall with its "wings". This fits well with the belief that pterosaurs evolved from running, leaping ancestors, because they lacked adaptations for living in trees. However, others suggest that it would run up a tree on its sharply clawed rear legs (its overall design seems poor for climbing), and then spring into the air.
In 2006, Dyke et al. published a study on possible gliding techniques for Sharovipteryx. The authors found that the wing membrane, which stretched between its very long hind legs and tail, would have allowed it to glide in a manner similar to delta wing aircraft. If the tiny front limbs also supported a membrane, they could have acted as a very efficiant means of controlling pitch stability, very much like a canard. Without a forewing, the authors find, controlled gliding would have been very difficult (unfortunately, the area around the forelimbs was completely prepared away in the only known fossil, destroying any possible trace of a membrane there).
References
- Dyke, G.J., Nudds, R.L. and Rayner, J.M.V. (2006). "Flight of Sharovipteryx mirabilis: the world's first delta-winged glider." Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
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