Flying giant pterosaurs had longer neck than a giraffe, say experts - The Guardian

Intact remains, discovered in Morocco, may help engineers create stronger lightweight structures.

Now scientists have discovered the 100m-year-old secret to the success of the flying pterosaur: a neck longer than a giraffe.

The findings, published in iScience, show a complex image of spoke-like structures, arranged in a helix around a central tube inside the neck vertebra, similar to that of a bicycle wheel.

The neural tube is placed centrally within the vertebra, and is connected to the external wall via a number of thin rod-like trabeculae, radially arranged like the spokes of a bicycle wheel, and helically arranged along the length of the vertebra.

Researchers had originally set out to study the shape and movements of the pterosaur’s neck, but took advantage of the offer of a CT scan to look inside.