What is the largest flying dinosaur that ever existed ?

Dinosaurs are rare and impressive creatures. Despite the extinction of their race, there is still compelling evidence to mark their passing. Evidence that, over time, has allowed us to learn quite a bit about dinosaurs. One of the things we have learned about dinosaurs is that they fly. Given that these animals are large in size, there is a question as to which of the dinosaurs is the largest and flies. Find out here.

Quetzalcoatlus, an imposing creature in size 

The Quetzalcoatlus is a gigantic flying animal. It is often used in dinosaur movies and when someone is confronted with this animal, his response is to run away. The Quetzalcoatlus belongs to the Cretaceous period. One wonders if it is really a dinosaur. Technically, it is not a dinosaur; it is a pterosaur. This gives it a high place in the history of flying dinosaurs. Traces of this fearsome flying animal have been found thanks to a number of sophisticated discoveries. 

Experts have found the skeletons of Quetzalcoatlus. These are the skeletons that have made it possible to trace the past existence of flying dinosaurs. For information, the Quetzalcoatlus according to the findings has a huge skull. Also, these fearsome flying dinosaurs lived in the north of America. This, although traces of their existence were found in Texas in 1971 by a student geologist (Douglas LAWSON). 

In addition to its large skull, the Quetzalcoatlus is characterised by a rather long and stiff neck. This gives it an enormous size. Note that the Quetzalcoatlus is over 10 metres long. Its wings are well over 15 metres long. Its heavy weight should not be forgotten. 

What did the Quetzalcoatlus eat ? 

The question of how the Quetzalcoatlus ate is a puzzling one. The Quetzalcoatlus is a toothless creature. It has a tapered snout. It is therefore difficult to say what it eats. To shed light on the question of the Quetzalcoatlus' diet, several hypotheses have been put forward. Some hypotheses refer to vultures. Better still, the Quetzalcoatlus would have eaten like today's vultures. Other hypotheses refer to fishing for easy prey. Note that even today, it is difficult to say with certainty what the Quetzalcoatlus ate.

Quetzalcoatlus, as big as it is fast

As mentioned above, the Quetzalcoatlus is a large pterosaur. In addition to being gigantic, it is also extremely heavy. However, its weight does not prevent it from taking off easily in the air. With its rather large wings, the Quetzalcoatlus uses its power to move around very easily. Note that it uses the power of its muscles during flight. This is what allows it to be fast.

In addition, experts estimate the Quetzalcoatlus' flight speed to be around 130 kilometres per hour. That said, the Quetzalcoatlus can travel hundreds of kilometres per day. With its graceful feathered body, the Quetzalcoatlus is impressive in size even in the sky. One wonders, however, if they are the only pterosaurs to fly in the sky. 

Other examples of flying dinosaurs 

At the risk of repetition, the Quetzalcoatlus is the largest flying dinosaur in history. However, it is not the only flying dinosaur that has existed. Besides it, there is the Hatzegopterix. The Hatzegopterix is a giant flying dinosaur. In terms of power and size, it is not comparable to the Quetzalcoatlus. The Quetzalcoatlus is much larger than this pterosaur. Apart from Hatzegopterix, the Tupuxuara can also be mentioned. 

The Ornithocheirus is also an example of a flying dinosaur that existed during the Cretaceous period. Like the previous examples, Ornithocheirus is a pterosaur. For this reason, it also has powerful and muscular wings. So it can easily take to the skies. 

Finally, note that there have been several flying dinosaurs. One of these is the Quetzalcoatlus, the largest flying dinosaur in history.