The magnificent Quetzalcoatlus was the size of a small aircraft and one of the largest flying animals ever. This massive, but delicately built, carnivorous reptile was one of the last of its kind. Like all pterosaurs, an elongate finger supported each of its wing membranes. It soared through the Late Cretaceous skies of North America, 68 million years ago.
History
Quetzalcoatlus is a relatively recent discovery. In the 1970s, Douglas Lawson and colleagues discovered several pterosaur skeletons, including a gigantic wing bone, in Big Bend National Park, Texas. In 1975 Lawson described the huge wing as a new species, Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a pterosaur he described as “the largest flying creature”. This pterosaur has since become one of the most famous of its kind and is housed in the Texas Memorial Museum at Austin.
Quetzalcoatlus was the size of a small aircraft and approached the upper size limits for a living creature. Despite its large size, this winged reptile had adaptations to keep it light. Its skull was lightly built and contained huge holes, while its bones were delicate and hollow. Its body was also relatively tiny - about the size of an adult human. This means that even a giant Quetzalcoatlus with a 35 ft wingspan would be light enough to take off and stay airborne. Quetzalcoatlus was also at home on the ground and could stride about on its long legs and folded wings.