Love at First Flight

Before we get started…I got some very Big news to share with you all.

Just recently, AppleTV+'s Prehistoric Planet which this series is inspired by has been renewed for a second season. There will be classic fan favorites like T. Rex, new habitats, and new dinosaurs. The first teaser image is a pair of Tarchia, a large ankylosaur, they were only background dinosaurs from the First Season in the Deserts Episode, but hopefully, they're now getting their spotlight segment. We might have to wait for two-three months because it won't be out until May 22nd. In the meantime, enjoy these Primeval Planet Stories.

Summary: Returning to the Solnhofen limestone the story focuses on a male Pterodactylus as he tries to find and court a Female during the island's mating season during that time he observes how the other inhabitants court for their mates

Cast: Pterodactylus(Focus), Archaeopteryx lithographica(Cameo) and siemensii, Compsognathus, Aurorazhdarcho, Ctenochasma, Cycnorhamphus, Rhamphorhynchus, Scaphognathus, Mesurupetala, Mesolimulus, Germanodactylus, Ardeadactylus, Anurognathus, Piranhamesodon, Aspidorhynchus, Leptolepides, Aegirosaurus, Pleurosaurus, Dakosaurus, Belemnotheutis, Plesioteuthis, Ardeosaurus brevipes, Homoeosaurus, Idiochelys, and Platychelys.

It begins at the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles with Thomas behind a fossil display as he begins to speak. "In prehistoric times, Dinosaurs dominated the earth on every continent, in the oceans lurked marine reptiles, but it's in the skies another group of reptiles took to the air. It was in 1784 when Italian scientist Cosimo Alessandro Collini described a fossil skeleton that had been unearthed from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria. Collini was the curator of the Naturalienkabinett, or nature cabinet of curiosities, a precursor to the modern concept of the natural history museum, in the palace of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria at Mannheim. The specimen had been given to the collection by Count Friedrich Ferdinand zu Pappenheim around 1780, having been recovered from a lithographic limestone quarry in Eichstätt. He described the creature known as." Holds up a cast model of the creature. "Pterodactylus antiquus, meaning 'winged finger' is the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile, in the past. It had been speculated to either be a bird or a bat. Pterodactylus had wings formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs. It was supported internally by collagen fibers and externally by keratinous ridges. Despite its small size, it became the namesake for the common inform name "Pterodactyl", it also supported a small crest on its head and the family of these flying reptiles like the famous Pteranodon. What was life like for this Pterosaur living in the European islands of the Jurassic and what was that crest used for?"

. . . . .

It was a clear sunny day over the archipelago islands of the Solnhofen limestone, 150 million years ago in the Late Jurassic. The waves crash as the water washes on the beach washing away some small footprints. Today is a special event, the mating season has arrived all across the archipelago creatures of all sorts are searching and courting for mates and bringing forth the next generation in the Solnhofen. One of those creatures is the Pterosaur, Pterodactylus, this young male wadding on the sand of the beach probing with his beak for small sand crustaceans and worms. It was a generalist carnivore that fed on a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates during the day with a relatively high bite force. It was a relatively small pterosaur, with an estimated adult wingspan of about 1.04 meters (3 ft 5 in). Pterodactylus, like related pterosaurs, had a crest on its skull composed mainly of soft tissues. They bred seasonally and grew consistently during their lifetime. The male's bright crest, wattles, and throat gular sac are a sign that he is ready to find a mate. As he walks along the beach he sees a gathering of horseshoe crabs known as Mesolimulus. They are marine and brackish water arthropods more closely related to spiders, scorpions, and ticks than they are to crabs.

Horseshoe crabs live in and around shallow coastal waters on soft, sandy, or muddy bottoms searching for worms and mollusks, which are their main food. They may also feed on crustaceans and even small fish. During the breeding season in warmer climates or when the full moon rises, horseshoe crabs migrate to shallow coastal waters. The smaller male horseshoe crab clings to the back or opisthosoma of the larger female using specialized front claws and fertilizes the eggs as they are laid in the sand. Additional males called "satellite males" who are not attached to the female may surround the pair and have some success in fertilizing eggs. The female can lay between 60,000 and 120,000 eggs in batches of a few thousand at a time. The eggs may be inseminated within 20 to 30 minutes and may hatch in about two weeks. But those eggs can also be a source of food for predators like the Pterodactylus and other small pterosaurs.

The Male Pterodactylus eats some of the horseshoe crab eggs providing him protein, he's going to need it, males in the breeding season use a lot of energy just to find a female. He's beginning to see it right now on a sand clearing he sees a Male Archaeopteryx with a dead Ardeosaurus in front of it, bellowing and cawing, it was scratching the floor with its feet, spreading its wings, and raising its tail feathers. Perching on a tree nearby is the Female Archaeopteryx who is ready to find a mate, she watches the male's courtship dance and the meal presented to her as she flies down, she is observing if he is fit and healthy and can provide food for her. She picks up the lizard and eats it, it's a sign she accepts him. Soon after mating, they would build a nest in a low-growing small tree or a tall dead stump to have their clutch of chicks.

The Pterodactylus comes to a freshwater pond to get a drink from there he sees the other inhabitants in love and some can be a bit rough like with the turtles. There is the Idiochelys, for example, in which the male circles the female, often nodding his head and biting at her legs and the edges of her carapace. He rams into her, attempting to trap her, so she can be mounted. Their mating is noisy, filled with hissing and grunting sounds, while the male vigorously stamps his hind feet. While the Platychelys, appears fairly aggressive, with the male chasing the female, grasping the posterior end of her carapace, and then mounting her. He holds on to the edges of her shell with all four legs, often biting her head and neck. Also, there are the Mesurupetala dragonflies were also courting, a male would display his colors or fly over his territory to show a potential mate what a good oviposition site he's chosen for their offspring. When a male spots a female of his species, he must first subdue her. He'll approach her from behind, usually while they are both in flight, and hold onto her thorax with his legs. He might bite her, too. If he hopes to mate successfully, he must get a firm grip on her quickly. He pulls his abdomen forward and uses his anal appendages, a pair of cerci, to clasp her by the neck or prothorax. After he has her tightly by the neck, he extends his body and continues to fly with her, in tandem. This position is known as tandem linkage during this he will transfer his sperm.

In the nearby scrub lands, a pair of Compsognathus are seen playing with each other, the bright gular sac male holding a piece of feather and presenting it to his mate. Above them, a pair of Archaeopteryx are building a nest on a tall small tree with sticks, these belong to the siemenssii species which are darker brown compared to the type species, Archaeopteryx lithographica which are more black. On the rocks of the cliffs, a pair of Rhamphorhynchus is seen nuzzling beak to beak. Below them, is a group of lizards known as Homoeosaurus. During courtship, a male makes his skin darker, raises his crests, and parades toward the female. He slowly walks in circles around the female with stiffened legs. The female will either submit, and allow the male to mount her, or retreat to her burrow.

Near the shallows, the Perodactylus sees other pterosaurs courting a pair of Aurorazhdarchos vocalizing to one another, chasing each other, and slapping their bills together. Next to them is a pair of Ctenochasma, interesting enough, Pterodactylus is classified as an early-branching member of the ctenochasmatid lineage, within the pterosaur clade Pterodactyloidea making them close relatives. The male and female start off first by interacting aggressively with ritual dancing, and bill clapping. Later they present sticks to each other and cross and clasp bills. On another part of the beach, is more of a beach party with Cycnorhamphus. The pair starts by pacing quickly over the sand in unison, giving a piping call that increases in tempo and pivoting in arcing patterns around the beach, sometimes taking to flight in pairs. They often attract neighboring pairs to begin their display, and sometimes as many as three pairs come together known as the Piping Ceremony, another colony of Ardeadactylus is courting by jousting their bills together and walking. Next, a colony of Germanodactylus is seen inflating their throat gular pouch sacs and showing their bright cests to the females.

As the Male Pterodactylus is about to take off, he sees a Male Scaogognathus holding small fish in between his tooth beak as an offering courting gift to a female. The Male Pterodactylus takes off into the air flying above the coastal waters of the Tethys Sea. Even underwater, there is love down there. In the shallows, shoals of fishes called Piranhamesodons are pairing up with their partners. The female will lay several thousand eggs near water plants, onto which the eggs stick. The males then fertilize the eggs and both parents will protect their brood from any predators or anything that swims by them even other fish. While Schools of herring-like fish known as Leptolepides, release their milt and eggs into the water column where they mix and fertilize. The eggs are adhesive and attach to vegetation or the bottom substrate. In the center of a lagoon, A pod of ichthyosaurs called Aegirosaurus is finding their partners. Like dolphins, groups of males will follow females since they can have several partners, and the males do so by jumping and flipping chasing the female. In the coral reefs, a pair of marine lizard-like reptiles known as Pleurosaurus, swim in synchronized with one another going above or below, or twirling around with each other. Close by a male Dakosaurus performs a series of head slaps on the water's surface. If the nearby female is interested, she will raise her head and arch her tail to let the male know she is interested. In the Open ocean, Aspidorhynchus are spawning with both males and females releasing their eggs and sperm into the water column soon the fish larvae developed and follow the currents where the very few that survive will grow up.

The male Pterodactylus flies over the waters searching for a female. He rumbles and bellows inflating his wattles and throat gular sac which can be heard for several miles. He sees flocks of Pterodactylus in the skies, they are doing what the male Pterodactylus expects to do. They are putting on an elaborate flight courtship for the females close by as they are choosing their partners. So far none of the females have selected the male Pterodactylus, but his luck is about to change. A female flies towards him, she is much duller in color including her underwings. The Male begins the courtship display he starts inflating his wattles and throat sac creating rumbling sounds as he dips his head in front of the female, and he has a secret weapon. His underwings are brightly colored for the female to see as the male flies in front of her, they fly up and down and sometimes turn even in a circle. The female flies closer and taps the lower jaw of his beak, she has accepted him. Once the female accepts the male, they both perform aerial flight courtship flying circles or alongside each other as they are synchronized in tune with the courtship pattern.

Soon sunset appears on the horizon as the two couples fly back to the shore, while Underwater, hundreds of prehistoric squids of two different species, Belemnotheutis and Plesioteuthis have gathered to find mates. The Belemnotheutis use chromatophores to communicate with one another. Males turn red to attract females and white to repel other males—and can even split the coloration of their bodies down the middle to attract a female on one side and repel a male on the other. Plesioteuthis have a strategy known as "drive-by mating," slapping sperm packets on any other squid of their species (male or female) that they come across, then jetting away. This strategy may help the males survive mating encounters with larger and potentially cannibalistic ones, after mating comes death, First, the male dies. Next the female, after making a little pouch of eggs, begins to starve. Soon their bodies become a feast for the marine inhabitants and the shoreline inhabitants on land.

As night falls, the Anurognathus are seen doing aerial courtship displays involving showing off their various white markings on the wings, making wing clapping sounds, and sometimes even chirping vocalizations. Up in the trees, the Ardeosaurus go rituals like posturing, movements, vocalizations, and even physical nipping and nudging. Some individuals reproduce asexually when the female produces fertile eggs without mating with a male. emit a series of clicking sounds to engage females. The pair once landed on the shore and start to get into the business of mating, after that the male Pterodactylus watched his sleeping mate before he too joins her. Soon she will dig a hole to lay her leathery eggs which will bury with sand, sticks, leaves, and debris. After that, they are on their own, and the scrublands would be the hatchlings' home once they hatched. As for the Male Pterodactylus, this will be a day to remember his Love at First Flight.

Trivia/References

-We have fossil evidence of pterosaur eggs that are leathery and laid in damp sediment or sand.

-The Archaeopteryx mating scene is based on birds like the bird of paradise and the scrape marks on its feet are based on fossil trackways made by dinosaurs as a sign of a courtship ritual and it's seen today in modern birds.

-The Female Archaeopteryx from "The First Flight" story makes a cameo as she has found a mate.

All Your Yesterdays

-The Pterodactylus courtship is based on the artwork titled "Pterodactyl Mating Flight" by Asher Elbein and along with how modern-day birds do aerial courtship displays.

- The Compsognathus pair seen playing with a feather they have found on the ground and the male using it as a courtship gift is based on Some birds like corvids and hawks engaging in play behavior also using objects they find (feathers, leaves, and such), on an illustrated artwork titled "Compsognathus at Play" by Alessio Arena,

Olmagon

-The Rhamphorhynchus pair nuzzling each other is based on an artwork with its relative which is the newly discovered Dearc titled "Dearc-ly Beloved."

Speculative Behaviors

-The Various species of Pterosaurs with their courtship rituals are based on modern-day birds like nightjars, Oystercatchers, hornbills, gulls, albatross, pelicans, and arctic terns.

-Belemnotheutis and Plesioteuthis courtship is based on the Caribbean reef squid and Some male deep-sea squids.

-Ardeosaurus scene is based Gecko courtship

-Aspidorhynchus spawning is based on how pelagic fish spawn

-Aegirosaurus males chasing the female is based on modern-day bottlenose dolphins.

-Dakosaurus courting is based on saltwater crocodiles.

-Piranhamesodons spawning is based on Red-bellied Piranhas.

-The Leptolepides is based on Herrings.

-Homoeosaurus courtship is based on modern-day lizards.

-Platychelys and Idiochelys mating is based on turtles including the snapping turtle.

-Mesurupetala Dragonflies' mating ritual is based on modern-day dragonflies.

-Mesolimulus mating and laying eggs on the beach which are food to predators is based on modern-day horseshoe crabs and a reference to the Walking with Dinosaurs episode " The Cruel Sea."

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The Next Story is "Night Fisherman," which we continue in the Solnhofen Limestone, as we observe a female Rhamporhynchus going on a night hunt fishing.

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