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They might also have been able to hitch a ride on thermals — air currents that rise from warmed patches of earth — and other currents in the atmosphere.

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

“A pterosaur from Big Bend [Texas] could be mating with a pterosaur from Transylvania,” Habib said during a recent meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, when he presented this work to other scientists.

(Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs but were closely related to dinosaurs and lived at the same time as some dinosaurs.)

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

But for a certain flying reptile that lived 70 million years ago, 10,000 miles probably wasn’t too far to fly in one trip, according to Michael Habib.

Habib is a scientist at Chatham University in Pittsburgh and researches biomechanics.

Some researchers have also estimated that the biggest type of these creatures weighed about 550 pounds, which is more than an ostrich.

In this case, Habib used the estimations and measurements of the size and anatomy of pterosaurs that other scientists had made, and calculated how far the creatures could fly without resting.

Scientists who study fossils say these beasts stood as tall as giraffes and flew through the air on 30-foot-long wings.

“A pterosaur from Big Bend [Texas] could be mating with a pterosaur from Transylvania,” Habib said during a recent meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, when he presented this work to other scientists.

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

Some researchers have also estimated that the biggest type of these creatures weighed about 550 pounds, which is more than an ostrich.

In this case, Habib used the estimations and measurements of the size and anatomy of pterosaurs that other scientists had made, and calculated how far the creatures could fly without resting.

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

If Habib is right, then a pterosaur could have crossed a continent or ocean in a single flight.

Thermals are a common source of low level turbulence for aircraft.

biomechanics The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

pterosaur Any of various extinct flying reptiles of the order Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls, of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, characterized by wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by the very long fourth digit on each forelimb.

Kids Dictionary and the National Weather Service)

estimate To calculate approximately (the amount, extent, magnitude, position, or value of something).

thermal A relatively small-scale, rising air current produced when Earth's surface is heated.

That means that pterosaur fossil remains found on different continents may not come from different species.

If his calculations are correct, then the giant pterosaurs are “the longest single-trip-distance fliers in the Earth’s history,” Habib told Science News.

Habib assumed the pterosaurs flew by some combination of flapping and gliding — probably gliding between flapping sessions.

They might also have been able to hitch a ride on thermals — air currents that rise from warmed patches of earth — and other currents in the atmosphere.

But that’s par for the course in science, and as a result, our understanding of pterosaurs will improve.

Biomechanists use physical laws about motions and forces to study how bodies work.

Kids Dictionary and the National Weather Service)

estimate To calculate approximately (the amount, extent, magnitude, position, or value of something).

thermal A relatively small-scale, rising air current produced when Earth's surface is heated.

Habib is a scientist at Chatham University in Pittsburgh and researches biomechanics.