Quetzalcoatlus | Facts & Information

Quetzalcoatlus was a short-tailed flying dinosaur that lived during the Upper Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era about 70 million years ago. Its fossil remains were discovered in 1971 in Texas, North America, and in 1975 were described by paleontologist Douglas A. Lawson. The species was named Quetzalcoatlus northropi in honor of american aircraft manufacturer John Knudsen Nortrop and in reference to the feathered snake Quetzalcoatl considered an Aztec deity. The researchers concluded that this flyer had a wingspan of 11 m and weight of 90 kg.

The skull was very large, on the side above the head there was a ridge that had the role of Helm during the flight taking into account the fact that this dinosaur had a short tail. Probably, these animals had difficulty rising in flight given the size of their wings, they always had to use winds and currents.

During the mating season, the crest on the head changes its color and has the role of attracting the partner. It was also an element of species recognition and probably regulating body temperature, as some researchers thought.

In Romania

In Romania, in the Sebes area of Alba County, paleontologist Matei Vremir discovered in 2008 a cervical vertebra of a Pterosaurus that had a wingspan of 16 m. according to the Romanian researcher the vertebra is twice as large as that of Quetzalcoatlus discovered in Texas. He also estimated the weight of the flying giant at no more than 100 kg, considering its possibility of flight.

Quetzalcoatlus Feed

They traveled long distances in flight, and their food consisted mainly of fish that they caught from the sea, from the surface of the water, approaching with their long beak without waving their wings. This flying giant did not feed on dinosaur leashes because it did not have the teeth needed to pluck pieces of meat from the animals ' bodies. He would catch the fish with his massive beak and then swallow them whole.