300229 VO Flying animals (2007W)

The lectures give a survey about the functional anatomy and evolution of various groups of flying animals, e.g. birds, mammals, reptils (including pterosaurs) and insects. The focus is laid on form-function relationships and the capacities of performance in the fundamentally different flying apparatuses. The results of aerodynamical, biomechanical, morphological and ecological studies are discussed in context with evolution and phylogeny of the taxa. The key innovations and evolutionary pathways are reconstructed that resulted in flying capabilities.