Abstract: The preservation of the wing membrane of pterosaurs is very poor and the available fossil evidence does not allow its properties to be reconstructed. In contrast, the fossil record for the wing bones is relatively good and the advent of CT scanning has made it possible to build high-fidelity structural models of the wing spar. The bending strength of the wing spar of a 6 m wingspan ornithocheirid pterosaur is used to infer the likely membrane tension. The tensions required to suppress aeroelastic flutter and to minimize ballooning of the membrane under flight loads are also estimated. All three estimates are of similar magnitude and imply that the membrane must have contained high-modulus material, supporting the view that the reinforcing aktinofibrils were keratinous.

Abstract In a spirit of friendly one-upmanship Sam and his friend James were recalling tales of presentations from the good old days of paper sections and logs, overhead projectors and viewgraphs, and hand-colored maps affixed to conference room walls with magnets or pushpins or spread out on polished hardwood tables in front of the assembled decision-makers. Sam is aware that the volume of presentation lore has grown geometrically in a world now dominated by PowerPoint, but he and James were keeping to the pre-PP era. Sam was telling about the time an interpreter had inadvertently irritated a manager to the point that said manager threw a fan-fold paper copy of a well log at him. He dodged the fluttering missile and kept speaking, hoping to avoid repeating whatever raised the manager’s ire. Only the manager’s poor aim and the interpreter’s quick reflexes kept this from erupting into a full-blown incident in which HR would have become involved.