The two configurations have different considerations: building a flight-capable hexapod requires stacking the shoulder blades, whereas the quadruped requires a complete rebuild of the shoulder because real horses cannot lift their forelimbs out to the sides, much less over their back. In the latter case, the wings push against the ground in a more extended position in tandem with the four running limbs. This launch style works for both a quadrupedal winged horse in which the forelimbs double as wings and a hexapodal one in which the wings are a third pair of limbs. Like these pterosaurs, our hippogriff (really a hippoptero) can use its wings as leaping limbs to execute takeoff. Several factors appear to have been instrumental in allowing giant pterosaurs such as Quetzalcoatlus, Cryodrakon and Hatzegopteryx to attain their great sizes while maintaining the ability to fly: their bones were light for their strength, their wings were formed by a membrane of muscle and skin rather than by comparatively heavy feathers, and they probably used both their folded wings and their hind limbs to push off from the ground and launch themselves into the air-a much more powerful leap than one executed by the hind limbs alone. This mix would enable the animal to take flight at horse size. We reimagined the classic hippogriff as a blend of horse and pterosaur. Somewhat lesser known is the hippogriff, a part-equine, part-avian predator capable of galloping on the ground like a horse and then launching into the air to fly like an eagle. The most famous is probably Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek legend that sprang from the blood of the snake-haired monster Medusa when the hero Perseus beheaded her. REMAKING A CLASSIC: Flying Horses Credit: Terryl Whitlatchįlying horses abound in myths and stories. In the pages that follow, we riff on three fanciful creatures depicted in the book and explain the science that lifts them up while grounding them in reality. We recently teamed up to produce a book on this topic called Flying Monsters: Illustrating Flying Vertebrates (to be published in 2021 by Design Studio Press), which covers both real and imaginary animals. As a paleontologist who studies fossil birds and pterosaurs (Habib) and an illustrator who designs creatures for books and films (Whitlatch), we are especially interested in the biomechanics of flight and how to portray flying beasts believably. Some of them run, slither, swim or burrow. Fantastic creatures appear in myths and legends from cultures around the world.
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