#northropi

#400, the quetzalcoatlus! a very special not-bird.

Name: Quetzalcoatlus‭ (‬from Quetzalcoatl‭)

Name Meaning: Is a god from the mesoamerica

Named By: Douglas A.‭ ‬Lawson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1975

Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Vertebrata,‭ ‬Tetrapoda,‭ ‬Amniota,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Diapsida,‭ ‬Archosauria,‭ ‬Avemetatarsalia,‭ ‬Pterosauria,‭ ‬Pterodactyloidia,‭ ‬Azhdarchidae

Species: Q.‭ ‬northropi

Type: Carnivore

Size: Estimated about 10-11 meter‭ wingspan

Known Locations: U.S.A.,‭ ‬Texas,‭ ‬Javelina Formation,‭ ‬Big Bend National Park

Named after the‭ ‘‬feathered serpent‭’ ‬god of Mesoamerica,‭ ‬Quetzalcoatlus has really soared to the top among popular pterosaurs.‭ ‬When first discovered it was thought to have had a fifteen meter wingspan but further studies have reduced this estimate to eleven meters,‭ ‬although that‭’‬s still huge for a pterosaur.‭ ‬Another revision was the beak in that it has been learned that it terminated in a sharp point as opposed to the original blunt edge.

How Quetzalcoatlus fed is open to much debate.‭ ‬Initially it was thought to be a scavenger,‭ ‬but the beak is not suited to the task of stripping flesh from a carcass as the beak did not close completely.‭ ‬The replacement hypothesis was that it skimmed across bodies of water,‭ ‬snatching fish out of the water with its beak as it flew overhead.‭ ‬Although plausible,‭ ‬when the theory was applied to a creature the size of Quetzalcoatlus it was found that it would be too far too much energy expenditure for it to be a viable method of feeding.‭

A more likely scenario accepted now is that Quetzalcoatlus had a lifestyle similar to that of a stork,‭ ‬perhaps stalking small prey items like lizards and mammals in vegetative growth on the ground,‭ ‬or sitting at the edges of streams and rivers snatching fish and amphibians as they swam by.‭ ‬Such feeding strategies would require very little energy expenditure,‭ ‬making it easier for Quetzalcoatlus to maintain the calorie intake to fuel its body.

Source (german): http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus

Source (english): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus

Other sources: http://dinosaurs.wikia.com/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus 

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/q/quetzalcoatlus.html