Quetzalcoatlus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous
Life restoration of Quetzalcoatlus. Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Pterosauria Suborder: Pterodactyloidea Family: Azhdarchidae Genus: Quetzalcoatlus Lawson, 1975
Species
Q. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek Words πτερόν ( pterón, for usual ptéryx) "wing" and δάκτυλος Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous northropi Lawson, 1975 (type) Q. In biology a type is that which fixes a name to a Taxon. Depending on the nomenclature code which is applied to the organism in question a type may be a specimen sp. vide Kellner & Langston, 1996

Quetzalcoatlus (named for the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl) was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America (Campanian–Maastrichtian stages, 84–65 ma), and one of the largest known flying animals of all time. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcōhuātl keʦalˈkoːwaːtɬ is an Aztec sky and creator god. For other meanings see Pterodactyl (disambiguation. Pterosaurs (ˈtɛrəsɔr from the Greek πτερόσαυρος pterosauros Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England The Campanian is a stage on the Geologic time scale occurring from 83 The Maastrichtian is the last stage of the Cretaceous period, and therefore of the Mesozoic era. It was a member of the Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks. Azhdarchidae (from Ajdarxo, the name of a dragon in Uzbek mythology is a family of Pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous

Discovery and species

Model of Quetzalcoatlus.

The first Quetzalcoatlus fossils were discovered in Texas (from the Javelina Formation at Big Bend National Park) in 1971 by Douglas A. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Big Bend National Park is a National park located in the US state of Texas. Lawson. The specimen (numbered TMM 41450-41453) consisted of a partial wing (made up of the forearms and elongated 4th finger in pterosaurs), from an individual later estimated at over to 10 m (33 ft) in wingspan. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip ^[1] Lawson assigned the specimen to a new genus and species, Quetzalcoatlus northropi. ^[2] A second, yet-unnamed species from Texas was reported by Kellner and Langston in 1996. ^[3] The specimen (known provisionally as Q. sp. ) is more complete than Q. northropi, and includes a partial skull, though it is much smaller, with an estimated wingspan of 5. 5 meters (18 ft). ^[4]

Paleobiology

Life restoration of a group of Quetzalcoatlus northropi.

There are a number of different ideas about the lifestyle of Quetzalcoatlus. With its long neck vertebrae and long toothless jaws it might have fed on fish like a heron, or perhaps it scavenged like the Marabou Stork. A vertebra (plural vertebrae) is an individual Irregular bone in the spinal or Vertebral column ( aka ischis a flexuous and flexible column The herons are wading Birds in the Ardeidae family Some are called Egrets or Bitterns instead of herons The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the Stork family Ciconiidae Others maintain that it fed like modern-day skimmers. The Skimmers, Rhynchopidae, are a small family of Tern -like Birds in the order Charadriiformes which also includes the Waders Gulls Presumably Quetzalcoatlus could take off under its own power, but once aloft it may have spent much of its time soaring. On the ground, Quetzalcoatlus probably walked on all fours. Recent studies suggest that it may have hunted on the ground like a modern stork, using flight as a method of long-range transport. Storks are large long-legged long-necked wading Birds with long stout bills, belonging to the family Ciconiidae. ^[1]

Size comparison of the two known Quetzalcoatlus species and a human.

There have been suggestions that the largest Quetzalcoatlus specimens represent an upper biological limit for flight. The largest remains indicate an individual with a wingspan as large as 12 m (40 ft), though more recent estimates based on greater knowledge of azhdarchid proportions place its wingspan at 10-11 meters (33-36 ft). However, similar claims to an upper size limit for flight accompanied the discovery of large (up to 9 m (30 ft)) Pteranodon, and azhdarchids larger than Quetzalcoatlus with wingspans 12 meters or more (such as Hatzegopteryx) have been discovered. Pteranodon (tɨˈrænədɒn from Greek πτερ- "wing" and αν -οδων "toothless" from the Late Cretaceous ( Hatzegopteryx (" Haţeg basin wing" is a Genus of azhdarchid Pterosaur, known from incomplete remains found in Transylvania ^[5]

During the Cretaceous period, Texas' climate was similar to modern tropical coastal wetlands and lagoons, extending along the Cretaceous Seaway that filled the center of North America. The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog The Western Interior Seaway, also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, and the North American Inland Sea, was a huge inland Sea Bones of related animals are also known from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. Dinosaur Provincial Park is a World Heritage Site located about a two hours drive east of Calgary, Alberta, Canada or northeast of Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

Along with the dinosaurs, Quetzalcoatlus became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which occurred approximately ( Ma) was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically

In popular culture

Reconstructed Quetzalcoatlus northropi skeleton.

There is a fictional species of Quetzalcoatlus known as Skybax in the Dinotopia series. The Quetzalcoatlus skybax is a Fictional creature in Dinotopia. Dinotopia is a Fictional Utopian place discovered and described by Author and Illustrator James Gurney. It is also featured in the nature documentary Walking with Dinosaurs episode "Death of a Dynasty", 3rd episode of Dinosaur Planet, and When Dinosaurs Roamed America, episode 5 (Late Cretaceous). A nature documentary is a Documentary film about Animals Plants or other non-human living creatures usually concentrating on film taken in their natural Walking with Dinosaurs was a six-part Television series produced by the BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the UK Dinosaur Planet is a four-part American Nature documentary first aired on Discovery Channel in 2003. When Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American television program (produced in the style of a traditional nature documentary) that first aired on The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of

References

External links

• Quetzalcoatlus northropi - A pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous