Comparison of flight movement between pterosaurs and modern birds

• Grant number: 25/21245-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: February 01, 2026
• End date: December 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Rodrigues Costa Nunes
• Grantee: Gabriela da Cunha Marques
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/03099-7 - Tridimensional modeling and locomotor biomechanics in extinct vertebrates, AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

Using pterosaur models such as Tapejara wellnhoferi and Rhamphorhynchus muensteri, comparisons between the different flight postures adopted by pterosaurs will be carried out, and these postures will then be compared to those of modern birds. In this way, inferences about the evolution of these postures and flight movements can be made for pterosaurs, allowing broader evolutionary approaches to be undertaken. (AU)