Delta-wing fighter jets mirror shape of flying dinosaur

A new study suggests that a prehistoric flying creature may have been the inspiration for the design of modern day delta-winged fighter jets.

Researchers from University College Dublin believe the Sharovipteryx mirabilis was the world's first delta-winged glider.

It measured only eight inches in length and lived during the Triassic period, some 225 million years ago.

Paleontologists have long known that the S. mirabilis glided with its hind legs with the help of a membrane stretched between its legs.

But the scientists widely debated what shape the membrane was and how it was attached to the creature's body.

The scientists used wind-tunnel data of modern-day lizards to craft a new membrane model for S. mirabilis.

The model suggests the wings of this ancient creature were triangular in shape.

According to scientists, that shape enabled the animal's vertebrate to allow it to fly efficiently at high speeds, much like a modern fighter jet while supersonic.

This new information also suggests that the S. mirabilis was the ancestor of the pterosaurs, a family of winged dinosaurs, although the pterosaurs were able to fly with both their front and hind legs.

The researchers' findings will be published in the upcoming issue of Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Illustration: University of Chicago News

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, July 18 edition