GnathostomataAzhdarchidae

Quetzalcoatlus lawsoni

Quetzalcoatlus lawsoni skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, length ~3 m, wingspan ~4.3 m.
Scale bar = 1 meter
Taxon
Quetzalcoatlus lawsoni Andres & Langston, 2021
Reconstructed length
~3 m (10 feet)
Wingspan
~4.3 m
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2023
Clade
  1. Gnathostomata
  2. Tetrapoda
  3. Amniota
  4. Sauropsida
  5. Archosauromorpha
  6. Archosauria
  7. Avemetatarsalia
  8. Pterosauria
  9. Pterodactyloidea
  10. Azhdarchoidea
  11. Azhdarchidae

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Quetzalcoatlus was an enormous Late Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur (pterosaurs being flying reptiles closely related to dinosaurs, but not one of them). Such giants may have flown across continents…or perhaps even between them, but so far Quetzalcoatlus fossils hail from Big Bend, Texas (I guess everything really is bigger there?).

There are currently two species of Quetzalcoatlus, and the smaller of the two, Q. lawsoni is shown here, for the very good reason that it’s a heck of a lot more complete than the remains of the bigger Q. northropi (for reference, Q. lawsoni had a wingspan of ~5 m / 15 feet, while Q. northropi had a wingspan closer to 10 m / 30+ feet). Both species of Quetzalcoatlus would likely have stalked prey on the ground, walking around on their long legs, spearing small animals with their long neck and pointed, toothless beak.