Pictures From Flying Monsters 3D

A Dimorphodon in Flight

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

Dimorphodon had a large, bulky skull, the weight of which was reduced by large cavities separated from each other by thin, bony partitions. It is believed to have been an eater of insects and other small animals and fish.

Tapejara Head

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

A close-up view of the head of Tapejara is shown here. The name is derived from Tupi Indian mythology and means "the old being."

Some scientists have proposed that, in addition to being able to fly, Tapejara could perhaps manipulate its body to “sail” across the surface of the ocean in search of prey. Like a boat, the “hull” of the pterosaur could be formed by the breastbone dipping into the water, and the two hind legs directed backward would function like lateral hulls.

Other scientists have suggested that the Tapejara’s enormous head was not used as a sail, but instead to attract a mate. It could be that the animals with the biggest and most spectacular head crests were able to demonstrate to potential mates that they were the fittest individuals in the population.

Two Quetzalcoatlus Scavenge a Dinosaur

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

A pair of Quetzalcoatlus scavenge a dinosaur carcass, as some paleontologists believe they might have. Quetzalcoatlus had an enormous beak the size of a man. It is the largest known pterosaur, and its height, standing, would have been eye-to-eye with a giraffe.

Quetzalcoatlus, which lived right up until the end of the Cretaceous period and the extinction of the dinosaurs, is considered in some ways to be at the top of the pterosaur family tree.

Draco Lizards in Flight

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

Often called “flying lizards,” draco lizards have a membrane that stretches between their front and back legs that can be used to help them glide from tree to tree or to the ground. Their membranes share some similarities with that of pterosaurs, and draco lizards are occasionally used to model aspects of pterosaur flight.

Darwinopterus

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

Darwinopterus, a pterosaur that lived 160 million years ago, is shown flying through a Jurassic forest. About the size of a crow, Darwinopterus had an anatomy that contained elements of both early and more advanced pterosaurs and is therefore considered a transitional animal. Its sharp teeth and flexible neck have led some paleontologists to speculate that it may have hunted in the air.

Pterosaur CGI

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions/ZOO EFX

This computer-generated model was created during the production of Flying Monsters 3D to show how a pterosaur might have moved.

Sir David Attenborough

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions

Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best known natural history filmmaker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly five decades.

Flying Monsters 3D is his first 3-D project. The project appealed to him, he says, in part because CGI (computer-generated imagery) could bring the creatures to life for audiences.

Sir David is a trustee of the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, an honorary fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, England, and a fellow of the Royal Society. He was knighted in 1985.

Tim Cragg

Photograph courtesy Atlantic Productions

Tim Cragg, director of photography, peers through a huge 3-D camera while filming a scene for Flying Monsters 3D in a quarry in Germany.