Scientists bring to life the remarkable details of Quetzalcoatlus, Earth’s largest flying reptile, offering a fascinating glimpse into the anatomy and capabilities of this legendary prehistoric flier
An artist’s rendition of Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a type of pterosaur and the largest flying animal that ever lived on Earth. Quetzalcoatlus stood about 12 feet tall and walked with a unique gait because of its enormous 20-foot wings, which touched the ground when folded. Credit: Artwork courtesy of James Kuether 70 million-year-old fossils reveal unique walking behavior of this huge, heron-like pterosaur. Look around any wetland today and you’re likely to see 3-foot-tall egrets or 4-foot-tall herons wading in the shallows in stealthy search of fish, insects or crustaceans. But 70 million years ago, along the Rio Grande River in Texas, a more impressive and scarier creature stalked the marshes: the 12-foot-tall pterosaur known as Quetzalcoatlus . With a 37- to 40-foot wingspan, it was the largest flying animal that ever lived on Earth. In six papers published this week as a Memoir by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists and an artist provide the m...