Pterossauros foram os primeiros vertebrados na história a locomoverem-se pelos céus. Para tanto, desenvolveram adaptações especiais em sua anatomia de modo a torná-los capazes de levantar vôo: seus membros dianteiros transformaram-se em asas, seus corpos tornaram-se mais aerodinâmicos e seus esqueletos, mais leves. Os primeiros pterossauros surgiram há aproximadamente 228 milhões de anos, e há 66 milhões de anos toda a linhagem desapareceu por completo, sem deixar descendentes. A região da Chapada do Araripe, no nordeste brasileiro, abriga um dos mais importantes conjuntos de fósseis de pterossauros já encontrado - tornando a área uma referência para pesquisadores do mundo todo que estudam estes animais.
Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates in history to move over the skies. They have developed special adaptations in their bodies that allowed them to fly: their forelimbs have turned into wings, their bodies have become more aerodynamics and their skeletons, lighter. The first pterosaurs emerged about 228 million years ago, and 66 million years all of them have disappeared completely, leaving no modern descendants. The Araripe Plateau, northeastern Brazil, shelters one of the most important pterosaur fossil sets of ever found - making that area a reference for researchers worldwide studying these animals.
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