The Largest Animal To Ever Fly Wasn't Quetzalcoatlus

If you thought the Quetzalcoatlus was the baddest (I know that is not a word) Pterosaur around 66 MYA, you may have to think again, because here comes the Hatzegopteryx .
0:00 Intro
1:25 Discovery & Naming
2:13 Size
3:41 How It Go So Big
4:27 Frankenstein Head & Neck
5:28 A Dinosaur Killer
6:21 Other Prey
6:37 Flight Capabilities
8:28 Hateg Island Environment
8:51 Animals It Lived With
9:55 Climate
10:08 Extinction
Artwork in thumbnail by Rudolf Hima
Music:
"Ancient Mystery Waltz (Vivace)" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.

[@Mr.Marketing]

Just when you thought modern paleontologists were taking away your childhood’s 80 foot Liopleurodon, and 9 meter Big Al. They publish a cessna spanning, dino devouring, two story terrestrial pterosaur to pterrorize your dreams.

[@GraupeLie]

pterrorise your dreams, yes indeed! XD

[@yaeldragwyla8170]

🙂

[@Gandalf_the_Black_]

I was so sad about Liopleurodon when I found out

[@BradBrassman]

Its OK; theyre long dead.

[@playernotfound9489]

wait how large is big al? even then we still upper estimates of saurophaganax

[@mhdfrb9971]

Large pterosaurs like Hatzegopteryx and Quetzalcoatlus were typically not taking off every five seconds. They would likely only take off every so often and only when traveling massive distances. For shorter distances, they would just gallop. A common misconception is that pterosaurs were clumsy on the ground like some bats. Footprints showed that Pterosaurs were instead perfectly capable of running/galloping and walking comfortably on the ground. In fact, for the massive Azhdarchids, the current accepted theory amongst paleontologists is that this giant creatures would hunt on the ground regularly and run down and swallow prey whole. Large flying birds like condors are much less efficient at taking off compared to pterosaurs because they only use their hindlimbs. Pterosaurs (and some bats) used all four of their limbs to take off, meaning that the flight muscles directly come into play in launching. This is a big part of why the largest pterosaurs could still fly.

[@user-ek4iy5wp4h]

Not proven adults could take off at all. Too heavy.

[@rockettbennett]

⁠@@user-ek4iy5wp4hWell back then we thought that sauropods were too heavy to walk. But they could. Most evidence points towards them being able to fly. Why would they have such well developed wings if they couldn’t fly? Flightless birds today do not have very well developed wings. That’s like saying that whales can’t float because they are too heavy. The whole “bees shouldn’t be able to fly” thing has been proven false because the guy that came up with it miscalculated at a certain point. “Too heavy” is not enough. I need much more substantial evidence than “Too heavy” the only reason those wings could still be there without flight capabilities would be for display.

[@eamonahern7495]

​@user-ek4iy5wp4h I reckon they could use the wind and had explosive fast twitch muscles for taking off. They probably would only flap for take of and perhaps to control landing but otherwise soared when they flew so those fast twitch muscles wouldn't have used too much energy having been at rest during flight.

[@kade-qt1zu]

@@user-ek4iy5wp4h Actually, most evidence supports the idea that adults COULD take off.

[@user-ek4iy5wp4h]

@@kade-qt1zu NOPE. Just the models used by paleo's with pre-conceived bias.

[@brianhartwelldrawingchanne5019]

Can we just stop and consider how wild it is to think an animal as fantastical as this actually existed?

[@BruceAlarie]

may have existed

[@RustyK5]

Pterosaurs as a rule are so ungainly looking (compared to modern birds) I suppose even nature makes awkward creatures occasionally.

[@markcobuzzi826]

One thing I just wondered was this. If we lived in an anachronistic fantasy world like “Primal”, and one of our environments had Hatzegopteryx and dwarf elephants existing on the same island, then it would be the closest thing to having the Roc’s folklore acted out by prehistoric animals. The Roc was a mythical giant bird-like monster from the Middle-East, which was often depicted being able to carry off and devour elephants.

[@Sylbester_]

yeah and now we are on this planet they once ruled thinking about them

[@necroseus]

​@@BruceAlarieI'm curious about what you mean by this. Care to elaborate?

[@Cedestra]

See, I was initially scared of the Quetzlcoatlus because of its size, thinking that I could have been its prey if I traveled back in time (I know, silly fear). Then, I realized that Azhdharkids' throats were probably too small to swallow a human, like a blue whale. I became at peace with their former existence. Now you're telling me that they wouldn't have swallowed me in one gulp, but stabbed me and tortured me before I died and became chunks of meat for the Hatzegopteryx. Back to square one.

[@jc_art_]

Its normal to be scared of large predators, in fact its probably the most normal fear in existence. It may be illogical, due to a long extinct predator not being able to harm you in any physical way, but most fears are somewhat illogical (i mean, hey, im scared of spiders, and the dark to an extent). Basically my point is your fear is valid and in no way more embarrassing than any other fear just because its somewhat unique

[@zzodysseuszz]

All animals in the animal kingdom are usually afraid of a larger opponent. It’s why most animals flare up and stand high widening their arms/wings/body. It’s a vain attempt to scare off a potential threat. Being scared of larger predators is a natural instinct

[@buragi5441]

In the case of these animals in particular the fear is even more compounded by their stature. They weren't just big, they were outright towering over most other animals. If you look directly up to see a gigantic head looming over you and then descending upon you, that is much more unsettling than the thought of a T.rex running you down.@@jc_art_

[@MountainsAreCool]

Nah they could swallow you whole. Blue whales eat krill, Quetzlcoatlus eats above human sized prey.

[@user-vv2pf1sy4m]

sweet dreams😆

[@posticusmaximus1739]

A dwarf titanosaur is such an oxymoron

[@GraupeLie]

True XD

[@richie_0740]

island drawfism is pretty common in modern times and had been observed quite well, theres the dwarf hippo which went extinct recently in cyprus, dwarf elephants from crete, and modern day channel island foxes, however the discovery of europasaurus from the jurssic, and of course both paludititan and magyarosaurus from maastrichtian europe are the first recorded evidence of insular dwarfism among dinosaurs

[@Gandalf_the_Black_]

True, they should just call them osaurs

[@Peanutdenver]

Jumbo Shrimp...Military Intelligence lol

[@waskozoids]

No body knows...

[@notoriousbigmoai1125]

Some birds evolved to be flightless. Could this happen to Pterosaurs?

[@Liethen]

That's what I've been wondering, would explain its robustness, also flightless birds on islands are common I would assume the same for pterosaurs.

[@IM_DAGOAT]

Scientists do say that they could have been flightless due to their massive size and hunting on the ground BUT scientists also think they flew to get around faster even though they spent most of their time on land

[@mhdfrb9971]

One reason is because we have absolutely no evidence they could not fly. All evidence we have from every group of pterosaur known flew. So why would we assume just because these ones were huge they could not fly.

[@IM_DAGOAT]

@@mhdfrb9971 true but they didn’t just have big robust wings for a big robust body for no reason

[@beastmaster0934]

I bet, had the KPG extinction event never happened, there would be a lineage of flightless pterosaurs. Kinda like the Strank from The New Dinosaurs.

[@davidboyle1902]

Of all the prehistoric animals, these flying behemoths strike me as some of the most fascinating. Early hypotheses were that these flying reptiles needed to launch themselves from cliffs, which I always thought was ridiculous. Oh, and that they were only capable of soaring, which I also thought was very unlikely. I’ve come to believe that these animals were capable of flying through use of musculature within their wings that allowed them to modify their shape in ways unlike any flying creature before or after. They had to be a magnificent sight… so long as you could watch from hiding! Great episode on an animal I had not heard of before. Thx for posting.

[@SanityTV_Last_Sane_Man_Alive]

not a reptile...

[@maximilliandemaude4755]

@@SanityTV_Last_Sane_Man_Alive They were reptiles though. Pterosaurs are part of the archosaurs, and are therefore reptiles, just as dinosaurs, another group of archosaurs, are.

[@AmericanAdvancement]

You’re right about the method of launch being unique as pterosaurs used a push-up method to launch themselves. This means that the same muscles used to launch were the same ones used for flight and meant that all pterosaurs could fly no matter how big they got. Birds on the other hand use their legs to launch and their wings for flight. The downside for this method of launch is that the powerful leg muscles are dead weight in the sky. This means that there’s a cap on how large birds could get and still fly and that there was evolutionary pressure to lose the ability to fly given the chance (read elephant or terror birds). The upside to the way birds fly is that they can use those leg muscles to grab prey mid flight, something that birds can’t do.

[@absalomdraconis]

Bats may fly the same way the pterosaurs did.

[@orthicon9]

I'm wondering if they were capable of _dynamic_ soaring, like the Albatross. That would certainly extend their range for island-hopping.

[@g.k.1669]

That thing having a bowl movement while flying overhead would have been terrifying enough.

[@lisa2stewart]

🍜🌌lends a WHOLE NEW MEANING TO "OH SHIT"!!! 😅

[@verindictus3639]

"Bombs away!"

[@SSmith-fm9kg]

An organic B-52.

[@BloodSweatandFears]

Poor creatures underneath. 😂

[@davidanderson2357]

Little birdie in the sky Drops a turdie in my eye I'm a big boy, I won't cry I'm just glad that cows don't fly

[@aaronmarks9366]

It would be so cool to be a biologist sent back in time to do field research on Hatzeg Island. Cool, and terrifying.

[@Betweentheraindrops8]

I’ve asked so many people (usually as an ice breaker) what time period on earth they’d like to be sent back to just to observe. It’s a great way to immediately get a sense of someone’s interests and even their values. Some have said the 1920s, the 1950s, Ancient Greece, Rome, or Egypt. Then I come along and say “Right before they K-Pg extinction so I can witness the biggest things that have ever walked, flown, and swam.”

[@marcusking332]

The only problem with time travel would be what is known as the butterfly effect. We would have to be extremely careful so as to not harm any animal. As it could have profound unknown effects on history itself.

[@edgeofsanity9111]

Definitely

[@intraterrestrial5035]

​@@marcusking332 gotta look at it with dragon ball z physics ... you going back would create a new fork in the time stream, and so you wouldn't affect your own timeline its a common fantasy to want to travel back & mogg hitler or john wilkes booth or etc, but at the same time, you wouldn't want to if it would cause you to not be born

[@robertinoEVIL]

what if you can't turn back? i hope you have hunting skills

[@danielmalinen6337]

Thank you for your courage. Quetza fans are sometimes aggressive, for example when I presented years ago on Reddit that Quetzalcoatlus was not the only big pterosaur, but for example Hatzegopteryx was just as big as this, people got angry and argued that Hatzegopteryx is not even half the size of Quetzalcoatlus or that Hatzegopteryx cannot be counted because it lived in Europe unlike the American Quetza. I haven't discussed it since then, but I'm glad to see that Hatzegopteryx is slowly getting recognition.

[@tom7471]

Aren't people strange?

[@lilietto1]

@@tom7471 It made me chuckle thinking that there are fan groups arguing over dinosaurs sizes

[@davidanderson2357]

"If it ain't Murcan it don't count!"

[@carsandsports123]

Reddit being toxic is not surprising

[@eriklarson9137]

@@carsandsports123 That is quite literally all it is good for.

[@Andreas_42]

If you like Pterosaurs and ever visit Karlsruhe in Germany, pay the Natural History Museum a visit. They have a full size model of a Pterosaur in flight, hanging off the ceiling where the stairs lead to the upper floor. It's quite impressive. Edit: Grammar.

[@lisa2stewart]

🍜🌌 I have only seen photos but it's still impressive!

[@captainp.2721]

Ah yes, the once great country known as Germany. Now known as new Somalia

[@Turbo495]

Just found your channel and im already starting to binge it lol, glad I found it so far and keep up the great work!

[@strydertallini]

Just a correction, it was the tallest, but not largest, size is truly dependent on weight, which Hatzegopteryx, was more heavily built than Quetzalcoatlus, which requires more weight, this makes Hatzegopteryx the largest. Edit: The video has now been corrected and this comment is pointless

[@muhammadputera6593]

Nah, your comment was not in vain. Thank you for adding value

[@megaraptoran1990]

I don't get where people take that from. There's no evidence Hatzegopteryx was more heavily build due to how fragmentary it is.

[@strydertallini]

@@megaraptoran1990 It's mostly from the fact it was the apex predator of its environment, hunting prey that was probably way larger than Quetzal hunted. Which would require it to be more heavily built

[@megaraptoran1990]

@@strydertallini and how would that require for it to be more heavily built?

[@strydertallini]

@@megaraptoran1990 because you're literally going for larger prey? how would it kill a magyarosaurus when it is as light as a quetzal, or lighter. This is different from carcharodontosaurs because they're using beaks to kill, which means there needs to be force put into it

[@PrehistoricMagazine]

Just discovered this channel. Congrats on its success. Mike from Prehistoric Magazine

[@kristofszilagyi2637]

9:29 "And an unnamed snake" - Not unnamed, his name is John.

[@robertclark972]

" Jake".

[@AselevID]

This channel is so undersized and deserves so many more subs. Perfectly fills the adult need for information while satisfying our childhood fascination with prehistoric creatures. Please keep up the great work!

[@AncientAnimalAtlas]

They provide indeed always very interesting information!

[@abydosianchulac2]

3:13 Well, that's a terrifying way of demonstrating size

[@jc_art_]

It also doesnt help much, as neither animal are depicted in a 'normal' position, and also no scale is present in the image, we dont know how tall either animal is from this image alone. Overall its more "an art peice in the style of a scale chart" than it is an actual scale chart lol

[@jc_art_]

3:27 is a much more useful depiction, and in my opinion it makes it feel much more threatening than the art peice did

[@matthias8161]

im cryin its so funny

[@GraupeLie]

Wow, I'd never even heard of this one! Always thought Quetzalcoatlus was the largest. Fascinating!

[@Zenocius]

Quetzal was like the Giga of the azhdarchids while Hatzeg was like the T rex

[@playernotfound9489]

Balaenognathus maeuseri is essentally a smaller, less weird spinosaurus

[@coledavidson5630]

Quetzal is still the "largest" in height, just not in mass. Kinda weird

[@jc_art_]

​@@coledavidson5630 yeah there are alot of words to use here, but 'largest' is perhaps not a good one because 'largest' is dependent on a second variable, like "largest height" or "largest weight" so just saying "largest" is very vague. Something could have the "largest density" and still be "the smallest" of a given category lol

[@megaraptoran1990]

I don't get where people take this information from. There's no evidence Hatzegopteryx was more heavily build than Quetzalcoatlus.

[@tom7471]

This was an awesome video! That is how you do it! Thanks! I subscribed.

[@Alberad08]

Lots of fascinating info - enjoyed it a lot!

[@Adex767]

Its funny…T-rex’s and sabertooths don’t scare me much. But this thing…the fact it once existed gives me a severe case of the creeps

[@fredtedstedman]

Pterosaurs are the most fascinating creatures . Thanks for sharing !

[@Thickest_Avenger]

This was a 10 minute video and you made it feel way longer 👏🏻💪 good work

[@IHateThisHandleSystem]

Your ability to pronounce the various names of the dinosaurs was enough to earn you a "like".

[@imcallingjapan2178]

Except Quetzalcoatlus, which should be Ket-z'l-co-artlus

[@Animesther]

Except for Magyarosaurus dacus but I can see why it's tricky to say, given the 'gy' is more like a light 'j' (like in jacuzzi) in english, and is better explained in slavic since it's being used as the d sound's lighter version, like in 'день'.

[@thegargantua12]

Pterosaurs weren't dinosaurs.

[@Irishhound]

I suspect his pronunciation on a lot of the animals is off. I don't know for sure because I don't study them, but he pronounced "archipelago" wrong along with several other words.

[@RobBulmahn]

I am flabbergasted by this comment, as the repeated inability to pronounce both the species names, as well as other common words like "archipelago" is seriously distracting me.

[@robwalsh9843]

Azhdarchids were to the sky what tyrannosaurs were to the land and mosasaurs to the sea. Being hunted by one sounds like a some terrifying story out of mythology.

[@jc_art_]

They also hunted on the land, but yes your metaphor is cool

[@davidanderson2357]

Nothing beats crocosaurus. Except, of course, megashark.

[@19megamustaine85]

Don't forget to include Deinosuchus hatcheri semi aquatic.

[@trailseeker12]

Quetzalcoatlus Northropi was bigger at 33- 40 ft wingspan and 18-20 ft tall, but that could be outdated due to the ever-changing field of paleontology, thx for the video none the less!

[@draw2death421]

The size in paleontology is measured by weight. Thats why Blue whale is said to be the biggest animal that ever lived even while Patagotitan was longer than it. Patagotitan was said to weight 71.000 KG while Bluewhale weighs 150.000 KG there for Bluewhale is still said to be bigger even tho its lenght doesent beat Patagotitans lenght.

[@n0denz]

This is absolutely stunning! It's geometry alone is like nothing else I've ever seen.

[@sfkeepay]

Wow…very curious about how much it may have weighed, as well as the evolutionary pressures that led to that crazy neck and skull. Thank you for making this eye-opening video. Nice job!

[@lucasb9285]

Neck is probs aerodynamic

[@lisa2stewart]

🍜🌌I think he said about the size of a tiger.

[@user-xe3mj9kb2x]

So nobody gonna talk about the to-scale-human silhouette laying on the floor cowering in fear of the azdarkid silhouette at 3:16.

[@birdmadd8137]

Instead of a static human to scale,I think they decided to add in the horror movie character

[@talkingtrashpanda]

the media used is really great. awesome video overall

[@christerprestberg3973]

One of my favourite creatuers ever, and the art at around 1:56 is some of my fav dino art ever ^^

[@PrehistoricMagazine]

Great video. Mike from Prehistoric Magazine.

[@SpencerBilodeau]

THose badasses were HUGE! So cool! And thanks for the vid! As a side note the name Quetzalcoatlus, derived from Quetzalcoatl, is the Spanish spelling for the original Nahuatl name, and is pronounced "kehtzal kwatl" rather than "kwetzal kowatel"

[@dianefiske-foy4717]

That huge Wing Monster reminds of something someone said to me one time when we saw a bird drop its load on someone’s head. They said, “Good thing elephants don’t fly.” That Wing Monster could possibly fit that saying as if it were like an elephant with wings. Being that it’s so big, its droppings probably were too.

[@Haestqilak]

These animals were terrifying. There's something so uncanny about these larger pterosaurs. The fact that their head is so big and neck so long while still being able to fly looks something straight out of a horror fiction. They are just amazing! Thank you for the video!

[@SuiteDevil7]

3:19 something about this picture terrifies me. I think it’s down to the fact its legs are so noticeable, it adds a level of the uncanny valley to it.

[@brianmacadam4793]

When I look at the geometry of the animals I wonder at their ability to fly at all, the mass of the head well out in front of the wings makes me wonder if the proposed reconstructions are close to what they would have been.

[@crestedargo4663]

I'm starting to think that they could have flown with their necks bent in a similar way to pelicans or marabou storks. It seems to me that birds with large heads and beaks do not usually fly with their necks in a linear position

[@golddragonette7795]

It's explained at the 7 min mark

[@herstoryanimated]

This video made me wonder if they could've essentially been penguins- i.e. underwater, would explain the long neck and large head. Probably wrong, but an interesting concept! I love that they could fly though, and agree feels like they hold head back over body during flight, would make more sense.

[@mrfischkopf4946]

​@@crestedargo4663 swans and geese do for example. The neck vertebrae are very long and stiff, it looks like they were unable to bent their neck to a greater degree.

[@crestedargo4663]

@@mrfischkopf4946It's true that swans and geese fly with their necks straight, , but personally I find that they have pretty little heads and beaks/bills. For me birds with long necks and large heads are: storks, marabou storks, pelicans and shoebills (these are the first that come to my mind), not swans and geese. So I'm not surprised that these two species fly with their necks straight, because they don't have a lot of weight due to their neck and especially their head. Azhdarchidae looks to me especially similar to pelicans, in regards to head's, beak's and neck's proportions

[@joaopedrobaggio4475]

Another great vídeo from this amazing channel, cheers from Brazil, i am a biggest fan. I just have one question, when will you start talking about human evolution.

[@ericaisaacs7452]

BRUH YOUR CHANNEL IS THE BEST

[@Gloriousturtlechan]

These are probably the single most scariest creatures that walked the earth. Imagine what our society would be like if they were still around, probably extinct 😅 idk what it is about these monsters that unsettles me so. Their sheer size, combined with their freaky not quite bird-like looks. Awesome, but terrifying.

[@CampaignerSC]

Between a trex that can smell you from miles away and home in on you easily like a polar bear and these thing that you might not even hear coming before they drop on you.. yeah... trex would actually be easier to avoid if you could find a place with terrain they can't climb. But with these things you would have to live underground like a rat just to survive.

[@Gloriousturtlechan]

@@CampaignerSC If we even survived those times we would have evolved so differently. Probably our nightvision would be excellent. Or maybe we would have develloped other ways of 'seeing'

[@jc_art_]

​@@Gloriousturtlechan i think its much more useful to imagine a "jurrasic park" like scenario, where these creatures are brought back to live in the modern day. How life would change or not change with these creatures around, not the strange concept of "what if these creatures survived extinction and lived all the way to the modern day" because in that scenario too much time is given for things to change, like the animal to evolve to be completely different, or differences in human development, that all stray from the point of the thought in the first place, of "what would you do if these creatures existed today"

[@qxtyoko8167]

Best parts about dinosaurs is they probably dont look like what we're constantly seeing them as. Until a safe time travel is possible, we will never know.

[@tatumergo3931]

We might not have to travel in time, just be able to look into the past. Like with some sort of device that could capture images from long ago.

[@seriouscyrus6982]

6:14 *clears throat* "Well hello muthaphuka, time to whine and dine"😈

[@AnimalAlmighty]

🤣🤣

[@stevestheboy1]

luv yer channel u have my sub

[@WilsonPendarvis-tn3wm]

Great production. congratulations. I approve

[@apnosaurus]

currently Quetzalcoatlus is the largest, because it weighs more. Azhdarchid weights are hard to accurately get because of their highly fragmentary nature, both Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx are inferred from relatives. Though there are two unpublished GDI for Quetzalcoatlus that placed it at around 360 kilos.

[@mrfischkopf4946]

The largest estimated weight is around 250kg. Hatzegopteryx remains, as mentioned in the Video, were noticeably more robust suggesting a higher weight than that of Quetzalcoatlus.

[@megaraptoran1990]

​@@mrfischkopf4946 GDI places Quetzalcoatlus at 360 kg.

[@megaraptoran1990]

​@@mrfischkopf4946There is no evidence that Hatzegopteryx was more robust than Quetzalcoatlus

[@megaraptoran1990]

@@mrfischkopf4946 which material? Half of a humerus, an incomplete femur, a cervical, skull fragments or other fragments

[@mrfischkopf4946]

@@megaraptoran1990 all azhdarchids remains are incomplete. The remains that are available, suggests a bigger size for hatzegopteryx. I have not heard of a publication that has disproven the current understanding.

[@IncoGnito-ji5du]

The largest animal to ever fly... That we know of...

[@garyfrederick9107]

but but did it taste like chicken or turkey and just asking how big of an oven would i need and how long and what temp to cook it. love to learn this is awesome thanks for sharing.

[@joergmaass]

I'm a bigly fan of your content!

[@juderm]

9:05 I think that Bradycneme is pronounced as “bradickneem.” Also you missed a syllable in Paludititan. Overall fantastic video, I appreciate the research you put into it

[@jc_art_]

They mis-pronounce *alot* of words in this video

[@davidanderson2357]

@@jc_art_ "a lot". Two words. And "mispronounce" has no hyphen. And your sentence needs a period.

[@johncasarino5627]

It's entire head was a giant pick axe supported by a powerful neck, the horror of that thing impaling and hacking at the dwarf sauropods on the island is quite obscene, it may have just swallowed things whole but the sheer size of it's head and the robustness of it's neck might indicate something more horrifying in terms of taking down larger prey.

[@Dios_of_Autumn-1999]

Yea but its also funny that a thing with a head as huge as that also can have issues in its throat most of the time given the difference between the size of its head and its stomach.

[@GrannySoupLadle]

This channel is golden brown crispy goodness

[@user-rl2ro2mu7n]

Oh and by the way can you make a video about pelagornis?

[@sskuk1095]

Imagining a Hatzegopteryx to run or gallop is on the same level of nightmare fuel as a cockroach going into butterfly mode!

[@danx4813]

I was about to correct you because I was expecting the video to be about the Quetz haha Good job. Quetzal was the tallest pterosaur though which makes it amazing.

[@MichaelGraves-kp7qc]

Interesting, good info.

[@hanselmansell7555]

Loving this channel, just saying 😊

[@Taskforce1]

playing Ark years ago gave me such an appreciation for these creatures

[@jc_art_]

​@@Ni-dk7ni cant wait for an unplayable buggy mess with a dozen paid dlc's and grindy boring gameplay 🫠

[@jc_art_]

Ark's Quetzals are such graceful and neat creatures, even if there are better, faster, healthier options for an airborn mobile base, nothing beats their charm. Its like someone owning and using a horse to get around when cars, bikes, trains, and planes exist. Its sort of 'classic' in a way. I remember my first time taming one, i built a sort of food truck on its platform saddle called "The Quetzal Burger", with the mascot being the quetzal itslef called "Quetzal Queen". Basically like a burger king knockoff. I went from base to base selling burgers (and other food) made with the best and rarest ingredients, until one time it ran out of stamina mid flight and had to stop to take a rest next to an alpha raptor 😔 *R.I.P. Quetzal Queen, you were truly royalty*

[@znail4675]

Interesting, an over developed neck durability suggests that it could use a totally different hunting style then other Pterrosaurs like ramming victims with the beak while flying and absorbing the impact with the neck. Any other reasons why it would need a neck that strong? As for flying, I think it's safe to assume it could at the very least manage to fly around the archipelago and not just the main island as not being limited to the island is the reason why it's a giant instead of a island dwarf.

[@jidk6565]

1: to easily look around with it's heavy head while flying 2: to pick up heavier prey it could be eating 3: to Peck at things WHILE ON THE GROUND

[@znail4675]

@@jidk6565 The question is why it's neck needs to be 10 times as strong for it's size as other Pterrosaurs meaning if that is needed then no other Pterrosaur can do it. 1. Can none other look around when flying? 2. Why would it need to carry around prey 10 times as large as usual, do you expect it to fly around with a giant dinosaur in it's beak? Why not just eat it at the spot? It was the local apex predator meaning there would be no need for it to carry food around to hide it. 3. It's assumed most Pterrosaurs pecked at prey, but I guess you mean that it used mega massive pecks smashing any defenses and killing large prey in one hit. The main argument against that is that there was no really large prey around where it lived making giant smashing pecks a bit redundant.

[@hihellokitty85]

Hatzegopteryxs: "No time for losers, we are the champions of the world!" Meteor: "Hello Earth!"

[@billrex]

Reminds me of those giant crows in Caelid in Elden Ring. I know it's a fantasy game but that's kind of how I would imagine a massive flying creature like this to act.

[@Danka42]

Those are dragons as far as I'm concerned 😲

[@fireshadowdark5462]

Where did you think people in the middle ages got the idea of Giant flying reptiles from? Okay, so far I know it's not confirmed, but I really think they found bones of a Tyrannosaur and some big wings, and made a dragon of it, not completely understanding what they found.

[@gennavandella]

True in description but I've been studying evidence of dragons worldwide. And evidence suggests these beings are actually sea-serpents. These beings are somewhat of a mist. Almost transparent, and and produce and electrical charge like lightning. The sea is their home but, they can fly because of their mist/smokey form. So even if they're there in the clouds you might not noticed. They're perfectly camouflaged. There's more beings like them in the sea I just don't know exactly what they are. There was one spotted in the Japanese tsunami video. And I saw another on a news coverage in that same incident. The news footage was later taken down. I know this because I saved it in my playlist. You can find that footage again. But you can find the first if you look it up. The government sectors knows about these things. They're trying to keep these things classified. Because they're doing experiments on them.

[@imeleventeen]

This was true until Lizzo bought a private jet

[@davidfavorite5646]

This the funniest thing I’ve ever seen😂

[@mistymeaner1753]

😄😃😀😆😅😂😘

[@user-vz4iv2xm5w]

😂😂😂😂

[@dakotadotta716]

She’s still got more fame than you.

[@imeleventeen]

@@dakotadotta716 And more sexual harassment cases

[@christines.5241]

Enjoyed realistic video, roadrunners thrash lizard-lunch on rocks, sure these did too. Some in video had down, feathers/fur? Thanks💖

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍

[@asgerdanielsen567]

Imagine domesticating and flying those.

[@mzamethodman7134]

Ark homie......Ark

[@stevedickson5853]

It would probably want you as it's next snack.

[@thefolder69]

you'd probably have to be pretty damn light; these things are already pushing the capabilities of flight to the limit, I doubt they had much margin for extra carrying capacity.

[@duanenichols8666]

Turok

[@znail4675]

@@thefolder69 We are lighter compared to them then we are to Horses. That would also make them unable to fly if the eat something, which sounds fatal. But I agree that they would have to work harder to fly when carrying a human, but then Horses also suffer when carrying extra load.

[@adriansantiagojr.8378]

They likely used dynamic soaring, the same thing the wandering albatross uses to fly, the same bird who for the first 5 to 10 years of it's life, never touches any form of land.

[@astanfartin1647]

with its scaly feet a real dragon! love it

[@chakiblazreg2661]

Could u make a vid about the Tropeognathus please?

[@nishbrown]

If only Jim Henson knew this when creating Sesame street... 🤔

[@WardenWolf]

And you wonder where the old legends of dragons came from. . .

[@PappyNet01]

it is all theory: I remember watching one of those NGC specials on dinosaurs that they got a lot wrong while piecing bones together. I love watching it and hearing the theories.

[@thevioletboi]

could you do a video about the cryodrakon?

[@Batkoku]

These things freak me out when they walk. 😮

[@st4r1ng6]

That fact is not cool for quetzalcoatlus lovers i think

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Excellent video ans hope you get many more Sub's ❣👍👍 🇺🇸

[@UmbreoNoctie]

Me when I see my art at 8:00 : 😍🥺 Awesome video!!

[@davidanderson2357]

So... NOT awesome if it didn't have your art?

[@UmbreoNoctie]

@@davidanderson2357 Do you need glasses because your read my message wrong 🧐 😛

[@dyent]

The largest animal to every fly was a whale, it just didn't do so under its own power.

[@technosauruswrex]

After reading the title my first thought was "Did your mom go skydiving or something?"

[@frederickd.provoncha8671]

It's amazing to me that such a big, heavy animal could ever fly. I know they say that they could "jump" into the air to take off, but even jumping should be difficult, I would think, for such a heavy animal. Amazing.

[@AncientAnimalAtlas]

Yeah amazing that these beasts flew around in the sky! Imagine seeing a Q. in the sky!

[@minibuns6220]

Love these aquatic birds

[@none_o_ur_bidnis]

The title is correct. The largest animal to ever fly is your mom, when she took that flight to Florida last year.

[@djert24]

Ayo wtf?

[@Googleistheantichrist]

Your mom is so big, she couldn’t fit in a C5 Galaxy. They tried but the doors wouldn’t close

[@kil-roy]

Your mom is big and fat, that everyone calls her the Big Fat Lady

[@MadDog375-ft5tl]

These giant winged dinosaurs seem to be playing a more important roll in actual predation instead of scavenger. Could it be possible that the diverse designs of ankylosaurids were to protect from this massive attack from the sky but also helped with land predators as well?

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

- not dinosaurs - role

[@kade-qt1zu]

Pterosaurs are not dinosaurs.

[@MadDog375-ft5tl]

If you can't figure out what I meant about giant winged Blank after a video about them then I can't help you. I simply asked a question wasn't looking for a right fighter. I guess it's easier to correct me than answer the question even if you knew what I meant and I didn't have time to type out Qualtzelawhateveritscalled at the time of asking. God bless you

[@juderm]

It’s just a correction, you don’t have to be offended by it!

[@MadDog375-ft5tl]

So glad you noticed and proved my point 👍it was a correction without the positivity of an answer. That's exactly what I was saying. Good job 👏

[@No-cx4gk]

That first small clip of WWD brought back so many memories...

[@meh.7640]

this thing is terrifying! i bet it was the inspiration for the beak thing from kenshi

[@Kai0kenAssassin]

I think that, while Quetzalcoatlus is still the King of the Azhdarchids, Hatzegopteryx was the big brute of the family.

[@megaraptoran1990]

Cryodrakon.

[@williammoreno-pp1og]

Well new estimates in 2021 shows that the quetz was two times bigger then a hatze, if you want I can show you the estimates! 😊

[@megaraptoran1990]

@@williammoreno-pp1og show them then

[@williammoreno-pp1og]

@@megaraptoran1990 A majority of estimates published since the 2000s have been substantially higher, around 200-250 kg (440-550 lb). In 2021, Kevin Padian which was very recent, while the Hatzegopteryx is only 500 too possibly 550 so in reality these two creatures could of been the same weight but different height!

[@megaraptoran1990]

@@williammoreno-pp1og Quetzalcoatlus is about 360 kg going by the skeletal by Henrique Paes.

[@oblivionfade]

I always knew that the largest animal to fly wasn't the Quezalcoatlus. Matter of fact, the largest animal to ever fly was a mammal, it happened when your mom took a flight to visit me.

[@davidanderson2357]

So you're really into old fat chicks eh.

[@williammoreno-pp1og]

Yooo chilllll, my dad gonna fly too you and peck you.

[@mostrizzfr]

THE PATH OF TITANS SCREENSHOT LMAOOOO 1:27

[@loreofmetal5604]

The artwork for these is terrifying

[@KeisonMibute]

They had a disco frog! That place must have been crazy fun.

[@davidanderson2357]

Ancestor of a certain duck.

[@Leto85]

What surprises me the most is not the sheer size of that animal, but its proportions. Such a huge beak, but its body is comparably small. It looks like it'll be full quickly, so I can only assume if uses that beak for defence mostly.

[@MartinMMeiss-mj6li]

I think this video makes the case for Hatzegopteryx being flightless more strongly than it makes the case that it could fly. Many of today's flightless birds found on islands also have wings that aren't fully reduced, and the skeletal remains of Hatzegopteryx leave plenty of room for uncertainty about the size and function of its wings.

[@TwistedVertex]

Thanks for this. Currently making an animated horror short involving a Quetz. Great video!

[@amicableenmity9820]

Just imagine seeing that thing walking on the ground for the first time. Absolutely huge head with a little, weirdly shaped body and wings. They're so unique looking.

[@kanethesevenfootmonster868]

10:04 That is Just Picture Perfect.......❤❤💯💯😭😭😭

[@edgeofsanity9111]

Now I wanna know more about terrestrial Europe during the Mesozoic (like what's up with Europasaurus' small size, how about other late Cretaceous European Hadrosaurs and Theropods etc

[@sammygreen066]

I love these animals for how alien they look, amazing beasts

[@peerpede-p.]

Great informative video, besides I wouldn't meet one of those early birds in real life 🐦

[@EricLinstone]

I like how the scale human at 3:12 was too terrified of the thing to pose with it and instead cowered in fear. 😆

[@TexasGreed]

Everytime i randomly click a video about dinosaurs my mind gets reblown as i remember this worlds old rulers. Its almost hard to believe these damn things really existed they are so different. I am humbled by such amazing creatures. Its sad to know we can never truly experience what they were like or what it would be like to encounter one.

[@TheSetadoon]

It's amazing to think that there are lower and upper parameters to all the specimens, and that the ones found are statistically probably average. Meaning there were dinosaurs and other animals we've never found the specific body of, but were the largest one of the species, and MASSIVE! Old ones that got so big nothing could take them down except time.