A Delta-Winged Reptile

In the "really cool paleontology" department, studies of the only known fossil of the tiny Triassic glider Sharovipteryx mirabilis, along with data from analogous modern creatures, computer modeling, and wind-tunnel tests, indicate the animal may have had delta (triangular) wings. Irish paleontologist Gareth Dyke and his colleagues report one possible shape of the wing membranes was a double-delta plan in which large triangular wings were based on the hind legs and attached along the body almost to the forelimbs, while a smaller set sprouted from the forelegs and attached to the body in front of them.