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Extinct Animal Questions
Topic Started: Nov 26 2013, 10:24 PM (193,326 Views)
SamtheMan
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Yep, Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx are tied (as far as I know anyway) for the largest pterosaur, not to mention the largest flying animal.
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CyborgIguana
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Arambourgiania was also almost their size IIRC.
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SamtheMan
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You're right, I kinda let that one slip my mind! The estimate I saw said 7 meters but I should've remembered that it was only a lower estimate. It certainly could've been larger than Tropeognathus and close enough to the other two giants to be a solid 3rd place. Its definitely interesting to note that these 3 giants also lived at roughly the same time.

While we're on the topic, does anyone know why the second Quetzalcoatlus species (Q. sp) doesn't have a species name yet? Is it just because of a lack of material to make it uncertain or is there some other reason?
Edited by SamtheMan, Jan 10 2016, 04:06 PM.
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BossMan, Jake
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Son of God

Yup those three are all comparable in size of about 33-36 foot wingspans. With tropeoganathus being nearly that size.

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Acinonyx Jubatus
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54godamora
Jan 10 2016, 01:52 PM
are there any pterosaurs that can do long-distance traveling?
Nyctosaurus. Nyctosaurus was like an Albatross turned up to 11. Probably touched the ground only a few times in its life. Other Pteranodontids and Ornithocheirids were probably similar, but not quite so attached to the air. Azhdarchids and Istiodactylids and possibly some "Rhamphorhynchoids" were adapted for soaring flight as well. And probably most other species could stay airborne for long periods too, the only exceptions I know of being Dimorphodon and possibly the Dsungaripterids, which were a lot like modern gamebirds in their flight patterns.
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CyborgIguana
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SamtheMan
Jan 10 2016, 04:02 PM
While we're on the topic, does anyone know why the second Quetzalcoatlus species (Q. sp) doesn't have a species name yet? Is it just because of a lack of material to make it uncertain or is there some other reason?
I think it's because we're not even sure it's a different species, as opposed to just a younger specimen of Q. northropi. It might even turn out to be a different genus entirely, we just don't know since all we have to go by for Q. northropi is a single partial wing.
Edited by CyborgIguana, Jan 10 2016, 05:29 PM.
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Paleop
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Paleopterix

SamtheMan
Jan 10 2016, 03:45 PM
Yep, Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx are tied (as far as I know anyway) for the largest pterosaur, not to mention the largest flying animal.
speaking of hatzegopteryx, a while back wasn't it determined that it had a shorter neck than quetz?
any papers on it?

thanks,
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BossMan, Jake
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Son of God

I think the difference was in skull shape, with Hatzegopteryx's being slightly shorter and it had a taller/thicker head crest. I do believe it's neck was shorter though.
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CyborgIguana
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Hatzegopteryx was also a bit more robustly-built IIRC.
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Incinerox
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BossMan, Jake
Jan 10 2016, 09:15 PM
I think the difference was in skull shape, with Hatzegopteryx's being slightly shorter and it had a taller/thicker head crest. I do believe it's neck was shorter though.


Paleop
Jan 10 2016, 06:27 PM
SamtheMan
Jan 10 2016, 03:45 PM
Yep, Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx are tied (as far as I know anyway) for the largest pterosaur, not to mention the largest flying animal.
speaking of hatzegopteryx, a while back wasn't it determined that it had a shorter neck than quetz?
any papers on it?

thanks,


To start, of the skull, we have only the occiput (where the neck attaches to) and fragment of its palate (basically the part that goes from the right jugal towards the midline of the roof of the mouth). Then we have a partial humerus, and MAYBE a femur, assuming the referred femur is from the same species, and it lacks both ends - it was still quite large. So we have NO idea what the shape of the animal's skull was actually like AT ALL. Only that the bony rods that actually formed the skull frame would have been proportionally more robust (and styrofoam-like in internal structure).

Again, we have zero indication on whether Hatzegopteryx was long-necked or short necked. We have both forms in smaller azhdarchids in the area though - Long necked Euazhdarcho with a 3m wingspan, and a short necked, described but unnamed species estimated to have a 4m wingspan. There has so far been no direct connection between Hatzegopteryx and the short necked species at a cladistic level - only references to pterosaur diversity.

At this point, all we can say still was that Hatzegopteryx was one of the 3 giant azhdarchids, and thanks to its proportionally more robust pieces than the other two, it was by far and away the heaviest flying animal ever. It may well have had a short neck like its smaller contemporary. But until further studies are done, we have to assume it was a bit more like the other giants it was related to.

That all being said, there's several different hypotheses going around all three Hateg azhdarchids - some say there's 3 distinct species, some think Euazhdarcho was a young Hatzegopteryx, and others think there was more relation between Hatzegopteryx and the stocky new kid on the block. So it's likely that someone, somewhere, is going to look into this and figure things out.
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stargatedalek
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I'm not slow! That's just my moe!

Acinonyx Jubatus
Jan 10 2016, 05:19 PM
54godamora
Jan 10 2016, 01:52 PM
are there any pterosaurs that can do long-distance traveling?
Nyctosaurus. Nyctosaurus was like an Albatross turned up to 11. Probably touched the ground only a few times in its life. Other Pteranodontids and Ornithocheirids were probably similar, but not quite so attached to the air. Azhdarchids and Istiodactylids and possibly some "Rhamphorhynchoids" were adapted for soaring flight as well. And probably most other species could stay airborne for long periods too, the only exceptions I know of being Dimorphodon and possibly the Dsungaripterids, which were a lot like modern gamebirds in their flight patterns.
Don't forget Guidraco and Ludodactylus, which would have been comparable to amphibious river dolphins.
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TheToastinator
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A piece of toast and a terminator.

Did any other marine reptiles live with Mosasaurus hoffmanni in Europe?
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BossMan, Jake
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Son of God

Plesiosaurs is all that comes to mind. Maybe a few short necked varieties but Im gonna need to double check on that.
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Other mosasaurs are most of what I'm seeing, actually. Anyway, here's what I got:

Prognathodon
Prognathodon
Hainosaurus
Halisaurus
Plioplatecarpus
Carinodens
Clidastes
Tylosaurus indet. 1
Liodon
Elasmosauridae indet. 1
Polycotylidae indet. 1
Gigantatypus
Pterosauria indet. 1

Noting some of those mosasaur genera contain more than one species found in the area.
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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stargatedalek
Jan 10 2016, 10:46 PM
Acinonyx Jubatus
Jan 10 2016, 05:19 PM
54godamora
Jan 10 2016, 01:52 PM
are there any pterosaurs that can do long-distance traveling?
Nyctosaurus. Nyctosaurus was like an Albatross turned up to 11. Probably touched the ground only a few times in its life. Other Pteranodontids and Ornithocheirids were probably similar, but not quite so attached to the air. Azhdarchids and Istiodactylids and possibly some "Rhamphorhynchoids" were adapted for soaring flight as well. And probably most other species could stay airborne for long periods too, the only exceptions I know of being Dimorphodon and possibly the Dsungaripterids, which were a lot like modern gamebirds in their flight patterns.
Don't forget Guidraco and Ludodactylus, which would have been comparable to amphibious river dolphins.
Methinks you're thinking of Boreopterus and Zhenyuanopterus. Guidraco and Ludodactylus were odd-looking, but otherwise par-for-the-course Ornithocheirids. Anyway, the Boreopterids were indeed capable of soaring flight, but their adaptations to a freshwater aquatic lifestyle makes me wonder how often they bothered to do any long-distance travelling.
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