You are in the coastal shorelines of Europe, 180 million years ago.

The air on the Early Jurassic coast was thick, humid, and smelled of salt and decaying algae. You were crouching near the edge of a shallow lagoon, watching the rippling water, when a shadow suddenly swept over you.

It wasn’t a dinosaur, but something far more agile. With a wingspan of nearly two meters, a Dorygnathus landed awkwardly on the wet sand only twenty feet away. It was a chaotic mix of pterosaur features: a long, straight tail stiffened with rods, a massive head, and a beak filled with frighteningly long, sharp teeth that slanted forward, perfectly suited for hunting fish.