Quetzalcoatlus (named for the Aztec feathered serpent deity Quetzalcoatl) was a pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the belatedly Cretaceous period of North America (Campanian–Maastrichtian stages, 84–65 million years back), and one of the biggest known flying animals of all time. It was a affiliate of the Azhdarchidae, a group of advanced toothless pterosaurs. Quetzalcoatlus died out about 65 million years previously, during the K-T mass extinction.

Quetzalcoatlus was a flying reptile whose wing-span was just under 36 feet broad (10.96 metres). It had hollow bones, was unconscientiously built and had a little body. Even though it was very big, it possibly weighed only about 300 pounds (135 kg). It had toothless jaws and a lengthy, thin beak. The neck was 10 feet (3 metres) lengthy. The legs were over 7 feet (2.1 metres) in length, as was the lengthy head.

Quetzalcoatlus had a huge brain and big eyes (it possibly had good eyesight). Fur-like fluff (modified scales) may have covered its body. A light-weight, bony crests on the head may have been a mating trait. The top might have acted as a rudder for flying.

Quetzalcoatlus wings were covered by a fibrous membrane and were over 9 inches (23 cm) thick at the elbow. This skinny but tough membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongate fourth fingers, forming the constitution of the wing. Claws protruded from the extra fingers. Quetzalcoatlus flew lengthy distances.

There are a number of dissimilar ideas about the lifestyle of Quetzalcoatlus. With its lengthy neck vertebrae and long toothless jaws it might have fed on fish resembling a heron, or perhaps it scavenged like the Marabou Stork, others maintain that it fed like contemporary skimmers. Presumably Quetzalcoatlus could take off under its individual power, but once aloft it may have spent much of its time tall. On the ground, Quetzalcoatlus possibly walked on all fours.

The initial Quetzalcoatlus fossil was discovered in Texas in 1971 by Douglas A. Lawson. During the Cretaceous age, Texas's climate was alike to modern tropical coastal wetlands and lagoons, extending beside the Cretaceous Seaway that filled the centre of North America. Bones of connected animals are also known from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Sauropsida

Order: Pterosauria

Suborder: Pterodactyloidea

Family: Azhdarchidae

Genus: Quetzalcoatlus