Longisquama insignis, based on a skeletal reconstruction published by Dave Peters in 2004. I don't think that this insanely elaborate reconstruction is in the least bit accurate.
This is an annoying teaser for the very long article due to appear here soon: an attempt to counteract the massive web presence of the wholly misleading, mis-educational ReptileEvolution.com. And, no, Longisquama did not really look like this... alas, Dave Peters tells us that it did [the drawing shown here - produced by me - is based on a skeletal reconstruction of Longisquama that Dave published in 2004]. More soon.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Darren Naish
Darren Naish is a science writer, technical editor and palaeozoologist (affiliated with the University of Southampton, UK). He mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs but has an avid interest in all things tetrapod. His publications can be downloaded at darrennaish.wordpress.com. He has been blogging at Tetrapod Zoology since 2006. Check out the Tet Zoo podcast at tetzoo.com!
