Sharovipteryx and the Earliest Gliding Animals

The first flying vertebrates were the pterosaurs, however, although they may have been the first to evolve powered flight there were some prehistoric animals that came before them that were still able to glide. This videos looks into some of these ancient gliders, some of them similar to animals that exist today while others completely different to anything that has ever lived.
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Agree

[@dr.norman3973]

This man is one of if not the best evolution explaining KZbinrs

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No arguments here

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Same

[@natanshick]

He and PBS Eons

[@samnunn8291]

Agree.

[@youtubejosephwm6699]

This guy PBS eons Ben g Thomas and Henry the paleo guy are the best natural history KZbinrs

[@Uniqueusername2]

Totally extended my arm and looked when you mentioned their size

[@eeelorde9962]

Yea i did that lol

[@roughanddrygobeyond4112]

Not the only one

[@shanemiller9000]

same here

[@binoodle511]

These videos have inspired me to truly begin my dream to become a paleontologist. As a child I was always intrigued and bewildered by such ancient beasts, but I was always told by my parents that it was impossible, as I'm a girl. I believed them for most of my life and shoved my love and curiosity for paleontology deep down. It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered this channel and a few others like it that I realised how wrong my parents were. I felt giddy about something for the first time in a while, and I decided to pursue the sciences in highschool. I'm now in my first year of university studying with a major of zoology.

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Yeah buddy!!

[@Swe3tChicken]

LET'S GO ROOTING FOR YOU!!!

[@aaronmarks9366]

That's awesome, I'm wishing you an amazing career full of astounding discoveries!

[@shanemiller9000]

@@Swe3tChicken Thats just wrong.

[@Swe3tChicken]

@@shanemiller9000 how? Huh?

[@jared_slouch395]

I absolutely love your videos! Reminds me of being a child full of wonder discovering all the ancient amazing animals that existed in the past. Keep it up!

[@pandathug6806]

Relaxing, interesting, informative. These videos are my absolute favorite. Always looking forward to the next one!

[@robwalsh9843]

Nature: "Yeah....I'm going to cut funding to the whole delta-leg-wing project. Just doesn't seem to work as well as the others"

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

It's not just that it did not work well enough. Developement of hind leg wings requires an ancestor that already has long and strong hind legs and rather small or weak front legs. And the ancestor needs a pelvis that attaches the legs "sideways" on the body. You only find that on animals like lizards or crocodiles. Most other groups on animals have a pelvis that places the legs under the body with limited flexibility to the side. That kind of mechanism is not suitable for a convertion into wings without major modification of the whole geometry. The reason for going extinct may be the hind leg wing was not good enough. The reason for having evolved only once is, most animals don't have a body plan that makes this kind of conversion easy or likely.

[@PurpleRhymesWithOrange]

@@Itsjustme-Justme As he said most gliders evolve from climbing creatures, so what leads to the hind leg glider? My first thought is maybe some type of aquatic lizard that swam propelled by its hind legs. Perhaps having a membrane across its hind legs made it able to push more water for a more powerful stroke similar to how whales swim with their fluke. I admit I can not envision how this would go from life in the water to gliding. Anyone else have ideas for the evolutionary path?

[@PurpleRhymesWithOrange]

Reading some of the other comments has given me another clue. People talking about aircraft design has said that this configuration would be problematic because if the center of gravity it forward of the wing the plane will nose dive. So perhaps this developed less from a swimming creature than from a diving creature. That they did not LIVE in the water but dove into the water to hunt creature on or near the bottom and then got out of the water again as quickly as they could to avoid predators swimming there.

[@shanemiller9000]

@@PurpleRhymesWithOrange Ive always thought this about some of the pterodactyls.

[@lobsterbark]

@@PurpleRhymesWithOrange It makes me think the front limbs have a membrane as well, the aerodynamic shape just doesn't make sense otherwise. There is also the possibility that the knees were actually normally more straightened during normal flight and the scientists missed something to not make them realize this, but idk how likely that is. It seems like such a simple thing to evolve a straighter wing shape I see no reason why it wouldn't have happened if there was the need for it. So something is missing from our understanding.

[@chocolizard678]

Oh I think I've heard of Sharovipteryx before but not in detail, glad to see you make a video on them!

[@HogBurger]

Could you please do a video on parrot evolution?

[@mgaus]

Thank you for this episode. For the algorithm, and may your channel grow exponentially

[@Uniqueusername2]

Doesn’t matter what I’m doing anytime I get a notification you made a video I stop everything and watch!

[@duneydan7993]

"The creature was named Coelurosauravus" Me: but his friends called him Rex!

[@stevenscholes3244]

Something about this channel both draws my daughters attention and puts her to sleep at the same time. It is a wonderful thing so thank you.

[@sharpiepenfinepoint]

Evolution in my family is taboo, against their religion, but growing up it was my favorite thing, and your videos are such a great exploration into a subject that really isn’t taught enough!

[@dinohall2595]

Sharovipteryx is odd even by Triassic standards, and I love it.

[@maxwelltran894]

I hope there’s a troodontid video at some point. Their evolutionary history would be interesting to learn about

[@kimbratton9620]

This is one of a handful of channels where I will watch every video!!!😀😁

[@Littlekoji-df1cf]

My favourite evolution channel! Love from Finland

[@Tentacular]

That tingly feeling when I see a new Mothlight video on my subscription feed... 🥳

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What is a long and comprehensive list of youtube channels that provide this type of informational evolutionary content ? I would like to add more of these channels to expand my portfolio of subscriptions to allow my home page to show me more of these videos, as they bring great joy to me in the good times and the grey ones.

[@cleanerben9636]

be interesting if you could do a video on how insects began to fly as well

[@tinakajnerok1041]

Thanks, i finished watching all of your videos today😅

[@veggieboyultimate]

There will never be a flying or gliding animal as weird as Sharovipteryx.

[@siphomogolegang1616]

The subtle background music gives these videos the essence of a far-away time...long gone...

[@samnunn8291]

Myself and my kids love your videos. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@cottagebob2551]

You have a pleasant voice and your presentation is excellent.

[@JuicyJam]

DRINKING GAME!!! Take a sip of your drink when there is: - a time lineage - a genetic tree - a new illustration - a size comparison Take a shot when: - the narrator says "however"

[@Flufux]

A right, the real Rex from Primeval. Though they took a lot of creative liberties with that one, it is still nice to see an obscure Permian animal appear in pop culture.

[@kalanimaes2119]

Huge fan!!! I keep a lookout for your content every time I hop on KZbin.!!

[@bedlaskybedla6361]

Nice video! I always find these ancient glinding reptiles very fascinating. There is also family Kuehnosauridae which had similar membranes for gliding.

[@TheFreshSpam]

I dont say it lightly in that your way of explaining evolution and topics around it makes it way more interesting and fun to digest. Few videos allow me to imagine and listen and watch

[@theinspector1023]

A very interesting piece. Thank you. It appears from the illustrations that the Sharovipterygids had a centre of gravity disparity. Maybe the membranes were more extensive than illustrated (as you suggested). This would bring the centre of lift further forward in line with the c of g.

[@grokeffer6226]

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Your content gets better and better

[@Steven-dt5nu]

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Looks like I found another amazing channel

[@miguelpurple5893]

the background music has found a way to make me sleepy while completely awake

[@aborawk4154]

I just found your channel recently and wow you're incredibly interesting and very well made. This is my 3rd or 4th video if yours so I'm glad I still got plenty more to binge 😉

[@montanamike7948]

Need more pics and videos. It's the same 10 over and over. Good video.

[@demos113]

Always look forward to your vids. :-)

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

When I first heard of this creature,I was shocked but I loved it. Also this video was pretty awesome.

[@YouSoRusso]

I adore these videos, thanks so much for doing them.

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I love this channel.

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I can't wait till this channel hits 1mil

[@ishaanlovemichael]

Hey moth light media, just here for some recommendation for next videos, could you please do how salamanders evolved, and how in its lifespan it loses gills and develops lungs, it would be pretty interesting. Anyway, Your narration is very soothing ( sometimes i listen to your videos while i try to sleep ) and also very informative. Great work.

[@satyr1349]

Hope you hit 250k subs ASAP, you deserve it!

[@griffinhunter3206]

Flying frogs fly more similarly to sharoviptoryx, with back feet membranes, if to a lesser degree

[@origaminosferatu3357]

There are flying frogs?? O_O

[@griffinhunter3206]

@@origaminosferatu3357 not powered flight, they use thier back legs to glide though

[@hsdinoman2267]

the permian and triassic period was full of so many strange animals, and yet a lot of people don't know about them because they aren't as popular as the dinosaurs

[@temple1111]

Best channel on KZbin.

[@JG-zs8tr]

Hello MLM - You are by far my favorite evolution and paleontology channel on YT. I was wondering if you’d consider adding background music to your videos again in the future? In the particular, the track used for the dinosaur and penguin vids (and a few others) is especially effective with your voice and presentation style. I’ve rewatched those videos a lot more than the others. Just my two cents. Keep up the good work!! - from Wisconsin, USA

[@Totalinternalreflection]

I prefer it without music, just facts no added drama required.

[@TheWanderingNight]

MothLightMedia's voice is music enough to my ears.

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I like the low key music in the background , puts me right to sleep.

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[@sassa82]

Great video!

[@nathanielgrey4091]

You deserve 2 million more subscribers

[@darthvaderbutwayshittier7054]

So animals with two pairs of limbs and wings exist? Huh, dragons are real.

[@robwalsh9843]

Except for fire breath, dragons most certainly did exist, and to some extent still do today.

[@blondbraid7986]

Well, they're literally called Draco lizards. Draco means dragon in latin.

[@shanemiller9000]

@@blondbraid7986 What does Gertrud mean in latin?

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

Super cool! Thank you very much.

[@captcardor]

When I saw your discussion about the Sharovipterygidae I was struck by the similar body structure to the Maniraptors of the Cretaceous period. Obviously they are not related in any way, but the Maniraptor, Deinonycus had a birdlike skeleton and arms that could reach out and grasp its prey. However, evolution often recapitulates useful features and this can provide clues to how and why the Sharovipterygidae lived and evolved.

[@Eo_Tunun]

The long and strong rear limbs suggest to me Sharovipteryx must have been a fast runner and probably even good at jumping. 🤔 I am not sure my interpretation of the fossil's posture is correct, but as I learnt that the muscles and ligaments of animals contract after death and before decomposition, there must have been significantly strong tissues in place to result in this crouched position like we see it there. The reconstruction in the title picture can impossibly be accurate as a wing area this far back and well behind the animal's centre of gravity would not allow any stable flight, it would rather work like the fins of bombs. To achieve balance in flight, either the tail would have to be pretty fleshy and heavy or there must have been a pretty big flight membrane attached to the front limbs as well to act as canard wings and establish pitch stability. Alternatively the body from the hips up must have been flat and wide to interact with an airflow like we see it with snakes that can extend their falls with a glide. Seeing the features behind the hind legs and spine look streaked, I get a very different and probably bonkers idea: Could it be Sharovipteryx didn't have any flight membranes at all, but horny extensions on its legs? As I mentioned it being bonkers, could these features be keels of feathers or proto-feathers? As the animal pretty likely was cold blooded, could these have been features to help it trap heat from the environment? Could they have been to make it look bigger to scare off predators? Display features? Does the riddle with its aerodynamic instability be solved by it being a ground dweller with flamboyant hind legs, thus not being capable of flight to begin with?

[@destiny6027]

Love your Videos

[@veryunusual126]

great video as always 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@DINO_X65]

I enjoyed learning about basically reverse pterosaurs in this video.

[@MrBonners]

Seems like a good design for grabbing prey in the air, several habitats from boreal, jungle, to coastal environments could support it . Hang upright and drop to glide.

[@reginaldhorkyiiregorreggie1559]

by far the funniest looking evolutionary experiment.

[@atak_draws]

I wonder if they got a chance would they evolve powered flight? How would powered flight with wings on the back limbs even work?

[@badartgallery9322]

Moth Light is my favorite channel. Kisses!

[@PurpleRhymesWithOrange]

A most intriguing evolutionarily concept.

[@Zach-ku6eu]

When are you going to finally compile a playlist?!

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

One more reason that back leg gliders were a dead end in evolution may be that the shoulder mechanism requires less modification to support and control a wing than the pelvis mechanism. The conversion of arms into wings simply requires less modification of the body plan. Evolution does not go extra steps if they don't give advantages. Another possible reason is center of cravity and overall weight. Wings on the hind legs require a long and heavy tail to get the center of gravity back far enough to match the wing position (fighter jets have heavy engines in the back). But everything heavy limits flying capabilities. An animal that can fly without a heavy trim weight on its back always has an advantage. That's why long, bony tails in birds vanished early in their linage and never came back.

[@gettheoutofmyroomiamplayin1883]

Sorry, but I have to point this out, Meganeura is thought to be a griffinfly and not a dragonfly. A closely related family for sure but not the same! P.S: Sorry, for my bad english, but i am not a native and am from Germany. Apart from that a great video about a theme that has interested me for some time. I have a questions, why are modern gliding animals not out competed by flying animals, has it something to do with the fact that gliding is more energy efficient than flying, but flying animals should have a higher sucess rate? Greetings from Germany

[@veryunusual126]

die gleiter fliegen ja nicht, sondern fliehen vor fressfeinden. damit konkurrieren gleiter nicht mit fliegenden tieren

[@EliJahTebbens]

i would imagine that modern flying creatures don't fill the same niche as modern flying ones, and so they can co exist. thisis just a geuss and an overgeneralization, but gliding, tree dwelling mammals are normally diurnal herbivores, so they need not compete with flying diurnal carnivores or flying nocturnal herbivores. and birds that do eat the same fruit or nuts as the gliders would never try to compete for resources when they could just fly somewhere with more abundant food right? idk, whats everyones thought?

[@ninomcterenceyaco7344]

​@@EliJahTebbens You mean the mammals were nocturnal... you're welcome for noticing..

[@jonathan_narain1189]

Your English is amazing!

[@generaldissatisfaction5397]

Great content.

[@firefrog101]

Only early for this kind of quality.

[@EB-Ghost6]

The thing on the numb nail looks like a JA37 viggen

[@airplanegeorge]

the ones with the back leg wings look aerodynamically noes heavy to me, extending the membrane to the front legs would have cured this problem.

[@TheWanderingNight]

From Wikipedia: "In 1987, Gans et al. published a revised description: they found that the patagium [membrane] did not extend to the forelimbs. Their experiments with models showed that the reptile could glide with its uropatagium and stabilize its glide by changing the angles of its forelimbs to provide an aeronautic canard or by bending its tail up or down to produce drag." What do you think of this?

[@keithharper32]

Sharovipteryx if a fascinating animal. I sometiimes wonder what would have happened if it had continued and found a way to generate thrust in order to stay airborne. would have been a unique family of flyers

[@lassebirkhenriksen]

Fun fact: weigelt in german means “to refuse”

[@TheUNACCEPTABLE]

You got my sub

[@crimsonmke2282]

I watch these vids in class when I’m done with my work and if a friend asks me what I’m watching I say “bro, I’m watching dinosaurs :)”

[@mistingwolf]

What a strange but fascinating creature!

[@Bug-Intercourser]

I'm learnding!

[@rorypenstock1763]

Sharovipterix: if Burt Rutan designed animals

[@erikhesjedal3569]

Like a Mirage or Saab 37 Draken, Delta wing with canards

[@jimmartin156]

The illustrations seem to suggest that the centre of balance, was to far forward. And the lift (it wouldn’t have been able to generate, was to far back). To have glided. So maybe the skin, went from the forelegs to the hind legs...... Just a thought. There may be, an aerodynamic answer. I’m only a layman.

[@bunkayke2554]

I respect how they never chicken to pronounce super complicated names lol that's powerful

[@gustavosauro1882]

Imagine if at least one group of pterossaurs survived,just like what happened to the dinossaurs

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

Earthlings: Aliens are so weird. Aliens: Earthlings are so weird

[@XxTheGreatDestroyerx]

Fucking love this channel.

[@Shadeem]

"sit like a lady" Sharovipteryx" No"

[@stevengibson4773]

Seems like the front legs were miniaturizing and potentially disappearing. It seems like based on the membrane being stretched across a joint, how do we know they weren't able to power themselves in flight at least crudely? Seems like the front legs minimizing would indicate they would be poor climbers.

[@ziethegalaxywolf5477]

I want the evolution of wolves TwT (pls give link if this channel already did it)

[@-arche-7926]

Wait, so the sharovipterygidae were not climbing animals before developing gliding? What then? And why did they develop their gliding then?

[@universodolucas6023]

good video

[@christianweigelt6656]

Perks of having paleontologist ancestors: being pleasantly surprised by videos on evolution.

[@chir0pter]

Yo you have some major errors (like 120 million years difference errors) on the plate tectonics graphics and the timing of the breakup of Gondwana in your phorusrhacids video, and it causes other errors in your commentary on phorusrhacids themselves. Other people have been pointing it out but I guess you have replies turned off? Either way you should correct it and at least make a pinned tweet and maybe even a KZbin short you can link to to correct the errors and graphics.

[@Shopweasel]

It might have latched onto a specialized skin EREA with it's front short arms and released it when near landing or hunting.to rebound in a split second from the flying function.

[@maddoxking9384]

Please do the evolution of moles

[@atomlightstone]

Can you do a video on the evolution of bearded dragons?

[@paleoph6168]

1:21 Rex!

[@crappozappo]

Does this video in any part exist because of my pedantic comment from that other video? I'd like to think not. But...life is weird. Triassic weird.

[@north6star]

I read another comment where someone said that the hind-winged creatures may have glided/dove into water for prey and swam away quickly. That makes sense to me 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@wesmcinerny4524]

Other early vertebrate gliders, of course, exist since the Permian.

[@Ravizito]

makes a video about the dwarf island of elephants and dwarf hippos