Lecture Notes: The Largest Flying Animals of the Late Cretaceous

Overview

Time Period: 66 million years ago, end of the Late Cretaceous.
Dominant Animals: Huge theropods and sauropods on land, mosasaurs in water, and giant pterosaurs in the sky.

Family: Azhdarchidae (pterosaurs known for long necks and legs).
Region: North America.
Size: Believed to be the largest known flying animal with a wingspan up to 11 meters (36 feet).
Naming: Named after the Aztec feathered serpent god.

Discovery: Found in the 1970s in Romania, named in 2002.
Size and Structure
- Wingspan: Potentially larger than Quetzalcoatlus, up to 12 meters (39 feet).
- Height: About 5 meters (16.5 feet), similar to a giraffe.
- Weight: Thought to be heavier due to robust build.
Skull and Neck
- Skull Length: 2.5 meters (8 feet 2 inches), one of the largest non-marine animal skulls.
- Neck: Short, broad, extremely strong with muscle attachment ridges.

Habitat: Lived on Hateg Island, part of a European archipelago with limited resources.
Role: Top predator due to lack of large theropods.
Diet
- Likely hunted dwarf dinosaurs and other small to medium-sized animals due to island's limited resources.
- Skull structure suggests it killed prey by stabbing or bludgeoning.
Flight
- Capable of flying; wings had hollow bones similar to styrofoam for reduced weight.
- Likely used jumping to launch into flight and could fly short distances efficiently.

Climate: Subtropical, warmer than today.
Island Fauna: Included dwarf dinosaurs (Magyarosaurus, Telmatosaurus, Zalmoxis) and other fauna (Albertonykus, Isodon, Kallokibotion).
Environmental Features: Forested with rivers and streams, rich in plant life and diverse ecosystems.

Cause: Large asteroid impact marking the end of the Cretaceous period.
Effect: Resulted in the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and many pterosaurs, including Hatzegopteryx.