Lord of the wings.

• Position: Museums Today - Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs - Cover story

FOR AS LONG as dinosaurs walked the Earth, flying creatures called pterosaurs ruled the skies. They ranged from the size of a sparrow to that of a two-seater plane. Close relatives of dinosaurs, these extraordinary winged reptiles--the first back-boned animals to evolve powered flight, and the only vertebrates to develop this ability besides birds and bats--are the focus of "Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs," which is the largest exhibition about these flying reptiles ever mounted in the U.S.

The exhibit highlights the latest research by scientists and paleontologists around the world and features rare pterosaur fossils and casts from Italy, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the U.S., as well as life-size models, videos, and interactive exhibits that immerse visitors in the mechanics of pterosaur flight, including a motion sensor-based interactive that allows an individual to use his or her body to "pilot" two species of pterosaurs through virtual prehistoric landscapes.

"Despite persistently captivating our popular imagination, pterosaurs are among the least well-understood large animals from the age of dinosaurs," points out Ellen V. Futter, president of the American Museum of Natural History. "In the past decade, however, there has been an explosion of pterosaur research and new fossil discoveries, including by [AMNH] scientists and the exhibition's curatorial team. Showcasing the most current, scientifically accurate information, this exhibition presents these fascinating winged reptiles, compares them to both dinosaurs of yesteryear and modem day birds and bats, and explores the biomechanics of pterosaur flight."

The exhibition features dozens of casts and replicas of fossils from AMNH's own collection and from museums around the world in addition to eight real fossil specimens, including one that never has been exhibited outside of Germany and the remains of an unknown species of giant pterosaur unearthed in 2012 in Romania.

"I think visitors to this exhibition will be most surprised by the staggering variation we see among pterosaurs--not just variation in body shapes and in size of these fascinating animals, but also in the shape and size of the extravagant crests found on the heads of some of these creatures," says Michael J. Novacek, senior vice president and curator in the Division of Paleontology. "I'm particularly excited that much of the museum's most recent research will be presented to the public...