Quetzelcoatlus was a pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, and the largest known flying animal to have ever lived.
It was a member of the Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks. Quetzalcoatlus lived inland from the sea, near fresh-water ponds. A carnivore, it probably hunted its prey by gliding toward the water and swooping up its meals.
Bio Facts
- Pronounced: kett-zal-coe-at-luss
- Means: Mexican Feathered God
- Where: North America
- When: Late Cretaceous
- Diet: Carnivorous
- Size of Adult: 36 ft (10.9 m) long (including wingspan)
- Size of Animatronic Model: L 16 ft 4 in ( 4.98 m) with wings folded, H 15 ft 8 in (4.76 m)*
* includes height of steel base