Quetzalcoatlus[1] was a huge pterosaur, the largest animal ever to fly. It lived in the Late Cretaceous of North America, 68–66 million years ago.
It was found in Texas, in 1971 and had an estimated wing span of around 10 metres (32 feet), [2] estimated from an incomplete wing. Hatzegopteryx, which may be a second species, was discovered decades later.
Quetzalcoatlus had an unusually long neck, and when it stood on the ground it was as tall as a giraffe. The Quetzalcoatlus was the biggest known flying animal ever.
It was a member of the Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks.
Description[]
Quetzalcoatlus was one of the largest pterosaurs, reaching a wingspan as large as a small plane. Quetzalcoatlus was most likely a scavenger, eating small animals whole and eating carcasses. Unlike popular adaptations of the animal, Quetzalcoatlus was unable to lift or carry animals with its hindlimbs. Quetzalcoatlus' neck was considerably long, towering over its body and limbs. Its head bears a thin crest, which may have been coloured bright colours in life. Its eyes sat on the side of its head an had nostrils that sat high-up its rostrum. Its neck was stiffened through large muscles. It beak is very pointed, and the underside of its lower jaw bears a knob that functioned as an anchor to a soft tissue pouch in life. Old reconstructions sported a blunter beak, possibly because remains once attributed to Quetzalcoatlus actually belonged to a tapejarid close in form to Tupuxuara. The exact size of the head crest in life is unknown. Q. lawsoni has a wingspan of 4.5 meters, considerably smaller than Q. nothropi.
Skull[]
Skull material (from an unnamed smaller species) shows that Quetzalcoatlus had a very sharp and pointed beak, contrary to the first rebuilds that showed a blunt snout, based on the unnoticed inclusion of jaw material from another pterosaur species. A skull crest was there but its exact form and size are still unknown. [3]
Size[]
When it was first found, scientists estimated that the largest Quetzalcoatlus fossils had a wing span as large as 52.2 feet, choosing the middle of three extrapolations from the proportions of other pterosaurs that gave an estimate of 36, 50.85 and 68.9 feet respectively. In 1981, further study dropped these estimates to 36–39 feet.[4] More recent estimates based on greater knowledge of azhdarchid scales place its wing span at 33–36 ft.[5]
Comparison of Q. northropi with a Cessna 172 light aircraft.
Mass estimates for giant azhdarchids are very hard since there are no species that share a similar size or body plan, and so the published results vary widely.[6] While some studies have found really low weight estimates for Quetzalcoatlus, as low as 150 pounds for a 10-meter individual, most estimates published since the 2000s have been higher, and the tend toward 440–550 pounds. [7] [8]
History[]
Cast of the holotype humerus
The first Quetzalcoatlus fossils were discovered in Texas, from the Maastrichtian Javelina Formation at Big Bend National Park (dated to around 68 million years ago[7]) in 1971 by a geology graduate student from the University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences, Douglas A. Lawson. The specimen consisted of a partial wing (in pterosaurs composed of the forearms and elongated fourth finger), from an individual later estimated at over 10 m (33 ft) in wingspan. Lawson discovered a second site of the same age, about forty kilometers from the first, where between 1972 and 1974 he and Professor Wann Langston Jr. of the Texas Memorial Museum unearthed three fragmentary skeletons of much smaller individuals. Lawson in 1975 announced the find in an article in Science. That same year, in a subsequent letter to the same journal, he made the original large specimen, TMM 41450-3, the holotype of a new genus and species, Quetzalcoatlus northropi. The genus name refers to the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. The specific name honors John Knudsen Northrop, the founder of Northrop, who was interested in large tailless flying wing aircraft designs resembling Quetzalcoatlus. At first it was assumed that the smaller specimens were juvenile or subadult forms of the larger type. Later, when more remains were found, it was realized they could have been a separate species. This possible second species from Texas was provisionally referred to as a Quetzalcoatlus sp. by Alexander Kellner and Langston in 1996, indicating that its status was too uncertain to give it a full new species name. The smaller specimens are more complete than the Q. northropi holotype, and include four partial skulls, though they are much less massive, with an estimated wingspan of 5.5 meters (18 feet).
Skeletal reconstruction of Q. lawsoni.
In 2021, Andres, Langston Jr., Lehman, Brown, Sagebiel, Cunningham, Conway, Padian and Langston published Q. lawsoni as a new species to house the Big Bend Q. sp., after Lawson.
Skull reconstruction of Q. lawsoni
Q. northropi is considered problematic since it has yet to be properly described and diagnosed. Mark Witton et al. (2010) note the holotype is undiagnostic in every capacity, complicating azhdarchid taxonomy. Witton et al. (2010) suggest a general anatomy to be nearly identical to other large azhdarchids, overlapping some with Hatzegopteryx. If Quetzalcoatlus can be differentiated and remains valid, Hatzegopteryx may be considered a European variant. They also note the skull of the latter and Q. sp. differentiate enough to be distinct, but significance for this may not be determined since other problematic relationships exist. However, these can be resolved if Q. northropi is seen as valid and Q. sp. are investigated. Another factor is that azhdarchids were capable of long-distance flights, leading some continents to likely share and interchange genera.
BMR P2002.2, an azhdarchid neck vertebrae discovered in 2002 from the Hell Creek Formation, was accidentally recovered in a field jacket containing partial Tyrannosaurus remains was used for transport. Though associated with a large theropod, it shows no evidence of chewing. This pterosaur would have had a wingspan of 5-5.5 meters (16-18 feet) and was assigned Q. sp..
Classification[]
A comparison of Quetzalcoatlus cervical vertebrae on the left with the Phosphatodraco holotype on the right
Lawson put Quetzalcoatlus in the suborder Pterodactylidae. In 1984 Lev Nesov placed the species in the group Azhdarchina. A bit later in 1984, Kevin Padian placed it in the family Titanopterygiidae, but he soon left that concept.
Its current closest related genus is Arambourgiania.
Andres and Myers (2013) find:
| Neoazhdarchia |
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Paleobiology[]
Flight[]
Restoration of a Quetzalcoatlus in flight
Since Quetzalcoatlus was so large, two researchers suggested it was too heavy to fly.[9] This would have been astonishing, because in the whole fossil record there is no flightless pterosaur. It has been thought their mobility on the ground was too poor for them to survive without flight. However, a recent discussion of this idea concluded they probably could fly after all. Another analysis suggested their flight was quite strong.[10] Since we have only a few bones, the question of weight cannot be settled at present.[11]
Quetzalcoatlus used its limbs to vault off of a high surface. This speed and the lift of its large wings gave the animal the ability to glide into the air. Models of Quetzalcoatlus have been made, and put on autopilot in a controlled simulation. They were able to fly with a combination of soaring and flapping. Though some sources have claimed Quetzalcoatlus to be flightless, the general consensus as of now is that Quetzalcoatlus would have been capable of flight as well as terrestrial stalking. Quetzalcoatlus was able to fly at about 130 km/h from 7-10 days at an altitude of about 4600 meters (15,000 feet). It was suggested further, by another team, that Quetzalcoatlus was able to fly from 13,000-19,000 kilometers (8000-12,000 miles). However, these estimates were based on relatively old size models, and Quetzalcoatlus differed from what they based their studies from. The newest study concludes that Quetzalcoatlus, and other large pterosaurs, used short bursts of speed to transition to thermal soaring.
Food[]
Artist's impression of a group of Quetzalcoatlus feeding on the ground
The feeding habits of Quetzalcoatlus (which had a long beak with no teeth) are unknown, though two theories have been proposed. One idea is that it ate fish, by flying with its jaw in the water, and snapping up fish when it hit them. The other theory is that it was a carrion feeder, like vultures and buzzards.[12] It was certainly a soarer, flying on up-currents of air in a warm environment, and its remains come from a site which was far inland in the Cretaceous. [13]
- "Of these proposed lifestyles, in-flight piscivory [fish-eating] appears to have gained the most acceptance, with skim-feeding being a frequently suggested foraging method."[14]
This question, and its flight, are still being discussed. The lack of a more detailed skeleton is the main problem in reaching conclusions.
Many different ideas have been suggesting in terms of Quetzalcoatlus' feeding patterns. Due to the sheer vastness of the holotypes locality and the lack of bodies of water, the idea of a piscivorous diet was rejected. Quetzalcoatlus was then theorized to have fed like a marabou stork (an occasional scavenger, also a land-bound predator), but since its fossils have been found entangled with Alamosaurus, the idea was rejected. It was noted that the downturned beak of Quetzalcoatlus would leave a 5 centimeter, 2 inch gap when closed, a function which is unlike the hooked bills of scavenging birds. The same team proposed that the vertebrae and toothless beak were adapted to skimming.
Until 2007, the idea was challenged when another research team concluded that, for large airborne animals, skimming took too much energy to be a viable feeding method. In 2008, Mark Witton and Darren Naish noted that most azhdarchids are found in inland formations, and added on that the features present in Quetzalcoatlus were not compatible with other extant skimmers. They concluded that Quetzalcoatlus was a terrestrial-stalking hunter/scavenger. Like storks, they likely snatched small animals on land and in shallow streams. Quetzalcoatlus additionally has forelimb-hindlimb proportions suited towards terrestrial striding.
Witton and Naish (2015) suggest that Quetzalcoatlus had flexibility in the neck that allowed reach to the ground, a reclined occipital face that angled the head towards the ground, a long neck that makes easier access to the ground, increased stride in all limbs and weight bearing adaptations in the hands; these would have allowed Quetzalcoatlus to hunt prey with ease.
The Quetzalcoatlus monograph published in 2021 notes that the terrestrial ground stalking hypothesis has fared well in light of recent data. Noting that it lived in an environment with shallow bodies of water, so Quetzalcoatlus may have also fed there. However, Naish, suspects that the lack of terrestrial adaptations in Quetzalcoatlus suggest it only hunted on land.
Paleoecology[]
A Quetzalcoatlus mount housed at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Quetzalcoatlus may have stopped by in the Hell Creek formation with another unknown azhdarchid. The animal likely swooped down from the skies when it spotted small animals, or an abandoned carcass. Once Quetzalcoatlus was done on the ground, it would vault into the sky with its forelimbs, and quickly open its wings to take off. Quetzacoatlus was built for long-time flying. Though it lived in certain geographic regions, it may have occasionally landed in unfamiliar territories and surrounding rock formations.
Dinosaur Field Guide Description[]
Quetzalcoatlus (after Quetzalcoatl, the "feathered serpent" of Aztec mythology) is one of the biggest animals ever to fly. I is an immense animal, with a head possibly 10 feet (3 m) long in the biggest individuals. It has a wingspan of 36 feet (11 m), and possibly more. Like Tapejara and Pteranodon, this giant pterosaur was a pterodactyl (one of the short-tailed pterosaurs). Unlike Tapejara and Pteranodon, though, Quetzalcoatlus lived on the mainland. Although some paleontologists have speculated that it was mostly a carrion-eater (like a vulture), others think that it probably ate mostly fish. It had very long legs, so it could wade into the water like an immense stork. It lived at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, flying over the heads of Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Anatotitan.,
Fun Facts[]
The full name of this species, Quetzalcoatlus northropi, honors the Northrop Aviation Company, which built a plane called the Flying Wing that looked something like a pterosaur.
Trivia[]
Ornithocheirus, a pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and Europe, might have been even bigger than Quetzalcoatlus: Its wingspan seems to have reached 43 feet (13 m)!
Gallery[]
Appearance in other media[]
Jurassic Park[]
- Quetzalcoatlus is nr. 112 of the Carnivore Threes that can be created in the game Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
- It also appears in Jurassic World: The Game as a super rare pterosaur. It lacks pycnofibres in all evolutions minus some tail "feathers" in its' final evolution (level 31 - 40).
- It appears in the game Jurassic World: Alive.
- A Quetzalcoatlus appeared in Jurassic World: Dominion. As a result, it also received toys and lego figures based on its likeness. It is remarkably oversized compared to the real counterpart and doesn't take flight the way paleontologists propose.
- Quetzalcoatlus is included in the Dominion BioSyn Expansion paid DLC for Jurassic World Evolution 2. Its model is heavily based on that in Jurassic World Dominion, but has been shrunken down to fit the limits of the game's aviary system.
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Read more Quetzalcoatlus on Jurassic Park Wiki |
The Land Before Time[]
- A Quetzalcoatlus appears briefly near the end of The Land Before Time VII: the Stone of Cold Fire. He is brought by Petrie's Mother to help find the children, and helps carry them off of Threehorn Peak while it is erupting, and back to the Great Valley. The flyer's only words in the movie are a gentle "hyhuck". It lacks pycnofibres, unlike the real pterosaur.
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Read more Quetzalcoatlus on Land Before Time Wiki |
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story[]
References[]
Template:References
- ↑ The word comes from the Aztec language, and is the name of a Mesoamerican deity meaning 'feathered serpent'. It's pronounced something like 'Ketzal-ko-atlus'.
- ↑ Langston, W. 1981. Pterosaurs, Scientific American, 244: 122-136.
- ↑ Kellner, A.W.A., and Langston, W. (1996). "Cranial remains of Quetzalcoatlus (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from Late Cretaceous sediments of Big Bend National Park, Texas." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 16: 222–231.
- ↑ Langston, W. (1981). "Pterosaurs", Scientific American, 244: 122-136.
- ↑ Witton, M.P., Martill, D.M. and Loveridge, R.F. (2010). "Clipping the Wings of Giant Pterosaurs: Comments on Wingspan Estimations and Diversity." Acta Geoscientica Sinica, 31 Supp.1: 79-81
- ↑ Witton, M.P., and Naish, D. (2008). "A Reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur Functional Morphology and Paleoecology." PLoS ONE, 3(5): e2271. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002271
- ↑ Paul, Gregory S. (2002). Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 472. ISBN 0801867630.
- ↑ Witton, M.P., Habib M.B. (2010). "On the Size and Flight Diversity of Giant Pterosaurs, the Use of Birds as Pterosaur Analogues and Comments on Pterosaur Flightlessness." PLoS ONE, 5(11): e13982. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013982
- ↑ Henderson D.M. 2010. Pterosaur body mass estimates from three-dimensional mathematical slicing. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30(3): 768-785. doi:10.1080/02724631003758334
- ↑ Witton M.P., and Naish D. 2008. "A reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology." PLoS ONE, 3(5): e2271. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002271 Full text online
- ↑ Minogue, Kristen 2010. Large size did not keep pterosaurs grounded. Science [1]
- ↑ Witton M.P., and Naish D. 2008. "A reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology." PLoS ONE, 3(5): e2271. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002271 Full text online
- ↑ Wellnhofer, Peter 1991. The illustrated encyclopedia of pterosaurs. London, Salamander. Reprinted as part 2 of The illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs. London, Salamander, 2000.
- ↑ Witton M.P., and Naish D. 2008. "A reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur functional morphology and paleoecology." PLoS ONE, 3(5): e2271. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002271 Full text online