The Largest Animal To Ever Fly Wasn't Quetzalcoatlus 

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.

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.

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

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.

A dwarf titanosaur is such an oxymoron

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

This was true until Lizzo bought a private jet

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

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

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!

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

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!

Pterosaurs are the most fascinating creatures . Thanks for sharing !

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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"

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

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

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.

the media used is really great. awesome video overall

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.

Great video. Mike from Prehistoric Magazine.

BRUH YOUR CHANNEL IS THE BEST

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

Imagine domesticating and flying those.

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.

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

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

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

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.

This channel is golden brown crispy goodness

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.

That fact is not cool for quetzalcoatlus lovers i think

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

luv yer channel u have my sub

Those are dragons as far as I'm concerned 😲

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

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.

I'm a bigly fan of your content!

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

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.

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.

Great production. congratulations. I approve

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

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.

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.

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

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

These things freak me out when they walk. 😮

Loving this channel, just saying 😊

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

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

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.

The artwork for these is terrifying

The most intriguing thought for me is how something so massive could fly. The light bones are the work of some divine engineering.

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

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?

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.

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.

It looks like it was designed by Picasso

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.

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

with its scaly feet a real dragon! love it

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

THE PATH OF TITANS SCREENSHOT LMAOOOO 1:27

Great video...👍

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

Interesting, good info.

Could u make a vid about the Tropeognathus please?

Sounds like the same circumstance that produced Haast's eagle. An island habitat with no terrestrial predators, but many small prey species and the few larger ones lacking in defenses, so the largest resident carnivorous flyer gets *really* big and dominates it all.

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

Imagine that thing thing swooping over your head, would be amazing and terrifying i have no doubt.

i read the title and hatzegopteryx instantly show off on my head