The first sensible reconstruction of a pterosaur skeleton and
wing membrane was made by Samuel Thomas von Soemmering in 1812. The reconstruction assumed a few missing features from
the skeleton and a wing membrane was extrapolated from what was known about bats and flight at that time. By 1901, Harry Govier Seeley had proposed a sound reconstruction
of a pterosaur that looked at the likely shape of the wing membrane and how it
was used in life. At this
point the idea of a pterosaur wing membrane evaluation was completely
theoretical. It was not until 1882 that the wing structure was known from the fossil record. A specimen originally named
Rhamphorhynchus phyllurus was discovered in the Lithographic Shale of Bavaria. This specimen was later
reclassified as Rhamphorhynchus muensteri. At about the same time an
isolated wing known as the Zittel wing (below) was published. Both fossils
showed the outline and structure of the wing membrane of Rhamphorhynchus. This
enabled much better reconstructions to be made. Interestingly, the
fossils showed that the ideas of Seeley were essentially correct. By 1900, enough was known about pterosaur skeletons and wings to
attempt a flying model. The theory of flight was at that time in its
infancy, but the mathematical concepts were understood, following the work of
early aviators on hang gliders and model flying wings.
The Zittel Wing