How It Works-Book Of Dinosaurs

Not a great deal is actually

known about this pterosaur

that dates back to the late

Cretaceous period, as only fragments

have ever been discovered. However,

evidence suggests that the

Quetzalcoatlus possibly boasted a

wingspan of up to 12m – making it the

largest fl ying vertebrate of all time.

But, despite its colossal size, its weight

has been suggested could have been as

low as 190lbs, but certainly no more

than 550lbs. This was perhaps down to

a complex system of air sacs situated

inside many of the creature’s bones

that kept its weight down so as to be

able to stay airborne for longer.

The Quetzalcoatlus’s long, narrow

wings made it an excellent glider,

and while initial reports suggested

that it could have used this skill to

hover over water and scour the oceans

for prey, it is now believed that it lived

inland. The Quetzalcoatlus would

have used rising thermals to glide

high above the land, its keen eyes

spotting prey from long distances like

a modern day vulture – prey that

consisted of vertebrates of all sizes.

Thanks to its long neck and sharp,

toothless jaws, the Quetzalcoatlus

would have been able to probe deep

inside large carcasses to devour the

contents in order to fuel its gigantic

metabolic requirements.

So far, fragments of the

Quetzalcoatlus have only been found

in Texas, North America, but it would

be safe to assume that they were well

equipped to traverse far further afi eld.

Putting things into perspective, the

next fl ying reptile down on the size

scale, the Pteranodon, boasted a

wingspan of 7m, a whole fi ve meters

shy of the Quetzalcoatlus (whose span

would dwarf many small planes). More

extensive remains of Pteranodons

have been found as far afi eld as Europe

and North America (England and

Kansas, to be precise).

So while not as famous as some of

the other species of winged reptiles,

Quetzalcoatlus has emerged to be

something of a winged wonder

amongst the pterosaurs. A creature

that steered a course inland away from

its sea-scouting Pteranodon peers (the

fragment remains were discovered

about 400 kilometers inland from the

nearest coastline and away from any

large rivers or lakes present in the area

during the Cretaceous period) to

sur vive on a diet of small vertebrates

and the discarded remains of other

larger dinosaurs. And with new

theories emerging regularly as to how

the creature lived, it appears that the

Quetzalcoatlus isn’t quite ready to give

up all of its secrets yet.

Quetzalcoatlus

Height: 5m (18ft)

Wingspan: 10-12m (32-39ft)

Weight: 135kg (300lb)

Diet: Carnivore

Discovered: Texas, USA

The statistics...

DINOSAURS

Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus

Discover more about the mysterious serpent of the sky

and the largest fl ying vertebrate of all time

Quetzalcoatlus may have formed breeding

colonies, like modern Albatrosses

Quetzalcoatlus in fl ight