The pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was the largest known flying animal that ever lived. The ancient reptile had a wingspan of up to 40 feet and had hollow bones to help it fly in the sky, according to ...

Fleshing out the bones of Quetzalcoatlus, Earth's largest flier ever. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 2, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2021 / 12 / 211208090029.htm.

Fleshing out the bones of Quetzalcoatlus, Earth's largest flier ever 70 million-year-old fossils reveal unique walking behavior of this huge, heron-like pterosaur ...

There are few fossils of the Quetzalcoatlus, but Brown said there were hundreds of bones for a smaller type of pterosaur, which instead had a wingspan of 18 to 20 feet.

Going into the new research, scientists had identified one species, known as Quetzalcoatlus northropi. Smaller bones were attributed to juveniles, but this appears to have been a mistake.

A sketch of the bones of Quetzalcoatlus northropi. When walking, the animal had a unique gait unlike any other, and distinctly different from that of the vampire bat.

The sky's the limit . By classifying the different bones by species, and investigating their unique features, the researchers were also able to find out how the different Quetzalcoatlus species would ...

Quetzalcoatlus—a member of the ancient group of flying reptiles called pterosaurs—was the largest flying creature to ever live. This giraffe-sized reptile had thin limbs, a terrifyingly long ...