A fully grown Quetzalcoatlus northropi had an aircraft-like wingspan of some 40 feet from wingtip to wingtip. There's newly published research about how this prehistoric behemoth managed to get itself airborne and flying. I said "new fossil evidence," but what is meant is "new interpretation of the fossil evidence that was discovered almost 50 years ago."
Paleontologists have had different ideas about it over the years:
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With [an 11 to 12 meter] wingspan (37-40 feet), Quetzalcoatlus is the largest flying organism ever known and one of the most familiar pterosaurs to the public. Its fossils were first discovered in 1971 by University of Texas at Austin graduate student Douglas Lawson in Big Bend National Park, Texas, the United States.
Despite a half century of interest, Quetzalcoatlus remains very incompletely described. Some paleontologists think the ancient giant rocked forward on its wingtips like a vampire bat; or that it built up speed by running and flapping like an albatross; or that it didn’t fly at all. But according to new research, Quetzalcoatlus probably leaped, jumping at least 2.4 m (8 feet) into the air before lifting off by sweeping its wings.
The image that I posted is an artist's conception of this animal that is known, from fossil evidence, to have lived 70 million years ago, towards the end of the era of the dinosaurs.
Do you "buy it"..? Can you picture it in your mind? This animal jumping 10 feet or so into the air as it started flapping its wings to become a flier, a transition that according to the news reports that I've looked at, it could accomplish in just about a single second from "clearance" to "takeoff."
You make the call.
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-14-2021).]
Where can I get one of those mangrove-palm hybrid trees where another palm grows out of the tree mid-way... that's pretty awesome.
That bird is terrifying. It wouldn't hesitate for a second to pluck me off the ground and swallow me up whole. I've seen what pelicans do to little duck babies... that end is not for me...
I was reading that even this biggest of the pterosaurs would perceive a human as too large for a prey item. An infant human, likely, but you or I would not look like food to this species. It doesn't have teeth. That huge beak is being likened to a giant pair of chopsticks. So they're looking for critters that they can snag with that beak and gobble down whole, without biting or chewing the prey into smaller parts to swallow.
If there were one animal from prehistoric times that I could actually see (from a safe distance) this must be it. Even more than T-rex or the mighty "Brontosaurus."
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-14-2021).]
I was reading that even this biggest of the pterosaurs would perceive a human as too large for a prey item. An infant human, likely, but you or I would not look like food to this species. It doesn't have teeth. That huge beak is being likened to a giant pair of chopsticks. So they're looking for critters that they can snag with that beak and gobble down whole, without biting or chewing the prey into smaller parts to swallow.
If there were one animal from prehistoric times that I could actually see (from a safe distance) this must be it. Even more than T-rex or the mighty "Brontosaurus."
That will be good knowledge to have if I'm ever accidentally transported to prehistoric times. I suppose though, there's more pressing concerns... like cow-sized mosquitos, and other things with jagged teeth that can outrun a Lamborghini. I probably wouldn't last the night.
Cryodrakon boreas, a newly described species of giant pterosaur, was identified from fossils discovered in 2019.
The artist dressed it up with something that might pass on first glance for natural pigmentation, until it is realized that the fossils were discovered in Canada's Alberta Province.
Cryodrakon boreas, a newly described species of giant pterosaur, was identified from fossils discovered in 2019.
The artist dressed it up with something that might pass on first glance for natural pigmentation, until it is realized that the fossils were discovered in Canada's Alberta Province.
Hahah! I was waiting for the punch line... I immediately looked at that and thought to myself... "this could be the national bird of Canada."
The artist dressed it up with something that might pass on first glance for natural pigmentation...
As a Canadian, I recognized that pattern immediately. Cool.
No abstract stars and stripes painted on this US based Pterosaur though... maybe because it's real! It's interesting to read the comments posted at YouTube (almost 4,000 so far!) in regards to the validity of this footage.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-14-2021).]
There was someone who had built a model of a pterosaur that flew via flapping it's wings- to test HOW it actually flew..........Quetzalcoatlus was gigantic....Even on the ground it would have me setting speed records running from it!
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 12-14-2021).]
I was reading that even this biggest of the pterosaurs would perceive a human as too large for a prey item. An infant human, likely, but you or I would not look like food to this species. It doesn't have teeth. That huge beak is being likened to a giant pair of chopsticks. So they're looking for critters that they can snag with that beak and gobble down whole, without biting or chewing the prey into smaller parts to swallow.
Neither do owls, hawks, eagles or other large predators and those don't woof down their prey whole either. Teeth don't matter, talons do.
You've evidently never seen a hawk or owl kill and eat a full grown chicken that is nearly as large as themselves. Eagles kill lambs all the time. (Owls by the way, usually only eat the heads of chickens. So do raccoons)
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun. The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Reading between the lines (perhaps) of whatever article I was reading, I think the latest fossils-based evidence on the big pterosaur's morphology and physiology infers that this species did not have the same possibility of eagles and hawks and other birds of prey that can tear their prey apart with their talons.
Nope... don't like any of this. I'm a big guy, and I know a lion can take me out, but part of me still feels like I can at least put up a fight. With something like that... I'm just an insect.
Nope... don't like any of this. I'm a big guy, and I know a lion can take me out, but part of me still feels like I can at least put up a fight. With something like that... I'm just an insect.
Patrick- Jonny Quest; I thought I'd died and gone to heaven whenever I could find it on TV back in the 60s....My two favorite episodes were "Turu the Terrible" (Pteranodon) and the one with the robot spider spy. I have the DVD set now so I can watch them anytime. Hydrofoils, hovercraft, flying belts, lasers......
If you guys want to watch a really good dinosaur (And Pteranodon) movie, try "The Land Unknown"...It was originally supposed to be a big production, so the script is really good, and the special effects are good (The Mat paintings for the background are impressive)
The studio leadership changed during production and new management cut the budget so it converted from color to B&W....But the biggest victim of the budget cut (No pun intended) was the T-rex; It makes Barney look realistic! (Although it's eyes blinking did freak me out when I was young)
If you can get past that one fault, this is a great movie.....I really like that tho they >>SEE<< what their Helicopter hit at one point, they never actually realized that it was what they hit- that is a very good script detail.
That was the Ringo Star movie, right? That dino in the footage you posted actually was kind of cool- but the eyes were too big.
The T-rex in TLU was absolutely horrible- not only a man-in-a-suit, but totally upright- and at times it looks like it was covered with paper-mache. I took a pic of it and modified it so it looked somewhat more realistic.....
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 12-15-2021).]
As a Canadian, I recognized that pattern immediately. Cool.
No abstract stars and stripes painted on this US based Pterosaur though... maybe because it's real! It's interesting to read the comments posted at YouTube (almost 4,000 so far!) in regards to the validity of this footage.
The "real" Pterosaur is Computer Generated Imagery or CGI, superimposed on a video of the actual sky, trees and everything else that is seen in that video. "Don't believe everything you see." Spoiler Alert
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-16-2021).]
I think this "dude" has nailed it. It takes him less than 4 minutes to explain it.
I can explain away its validity in 30 seconds. At 0:07 of the video, when the "Pterosaur" tips its head down, it also tips its wings 90°... yet with no lift being created, instead of dropping like a stone, it continues to effortlessly glide forward. Dead giveaway, looks very unnatural.
This is a very elegant animation of how the largest of the pterosaurs managed to launch themselves into flight. It's narrated by University of Bristol paleontologist Dr. Elizabeth G. Martin-Silverstone, who explores a most hypothetical scenario: Could (and how could) a human ride a giant pterosaur in flight, like riding aboard a flying dragon?
"Pterosaurs: Winged prehistoric giants that ruled the skies" BBC REEL; March 4, 2021. Video duration: 9 minutes.
Was this 'Death Dragon' the largest-ever animal to take to the skies?
Thanatosdrakon amaru? Maybe. Or maybe that honor belongs to Quetzalcoatlus northropi (at the very beginning of this thread.) This is a new YouTube presentation with some impressively realistic-looking animation. It's inspired by recently discovered fossil remains unearthed in Argentina.
Was this 'Death Dragon' the largest-ever animal to take to the skies?
Thanatosdrakon amaru? Maybe. Or maybe that honor belongs to Quetzalcoatlus northropi (at the very beginning of this thread.) This is a new YouTube presentation with some impressively realistic-looking animation. It's inspired by recently discovered fossil remains unearthed in Argentina.
Makes you wonder where the earliest idea of "dragons" came from. I suppose I could look it up, but I'm going to guess... I figure someone found a dinosaur carcass somewhere in Europe and presumed it belonged to something which they identified as a dragon.
It's interesting to read 
At 0:07 of the video, when the "Pterosaur" tips its head down, it also tips its wings 90°... yet with no lift being created, instead of dropping like a stone, it continues to effortlessly glide forward. Dead giveaway, looks very unnatural.
