The pterosaurs from deep time / Птерозавры из глубины времен

The dragon blinked in the fierce light of the sun as it emerged from the clouds and banked hard, its tremendous wings arching under the load. Reflected in a massive dark eye, the world below slowly tilted into view. Vast herds of dinosaurs were strung out across a dusty yellow-orange plain, occasionally gathered in knots where they had stopped to feed on patches of stunted vegetation. Then came marshes and— the dragon focused— a long, still, clear-blue lake. In its glassy depths, rainbow-hued fish hung almost motionless in the warm water, fins undulating, gills slowly pulsing. Suddenly, a huge dark shadow swept across the water's surface and, before it could dive into the safety of the weeds, a fish was gripped by long, sharp-pointed jaws and jerked violently into the air. As its consciousness faded, it gazed up into a limpid eye, set in a reptilian skull framed by fine, straggly hair. Slender, powerful wings beat smoothly up and down, membranes tensed and relaxed as the animal rose swiftly. At the top of its climb the Quetzalcoatlus paused, swallowed, then dived down again toward the shimmering lake far below.' <...>