flying reptile
1
8.5
- noun
- /ˈflaɪɪŋ rɪˈptaɪl/
- Many scientists believe that flying reptiles had specialized wing structures that allowed them to glide efficiently.
Examples
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During the late Cretaceous period, enormous flying reptiles known as pterosaurs soared through the skies.
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So here we have a chain of three neck vertebrae from a large pterosaur flying reptile found, I think this one's in North Africa.
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Pterodactyls, an example of flying reptiles, had long beaks and large wings that enabled them to hunt for fish.
Synonyms
27
9.7
A flying reptile from long ago with a long thin head and short tail
5
9.9
A flying reptile that lived in the time of the dinosaurs with thin skin wings like a bat
2
9.9
A large extinct flying reptile with a long toothless beak and very large wings
1
9.9
A small extinct flying reptile from the Jurassic with a long beak and wings that ate fish
Extinct flying reptiles that lived during the age of dinosaurs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'flying reptile' is compositionally built from 'flying' (moving through the air) and 'reptile' (cold-blooded vertebrate), so its meaning — a reptile that flies — is directly derivable from the constituents. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common noun + modifier pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand.
Etymology
Flying reptile is a simple name made from the words flying and reptile: early scientists found fossils of reptiles with thin-skin wings like a bat, stretched along a very long finger, so they were literally reptiles that could fly. That's why 'flying reptile' today means the extinct animals with bat-like wings.