The Azhadrichidae family of pterosaurs, including Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, were the largest flying animals ever, with wingspans of over 12m. They lived during the Late Cretaceous and were adept walkers. Scientists previously believed each new large pterosaur discovered represented the largest possible flying animal, but this idea has been debunked. The largest flying animal ever was a descendant of the first vertebrates to take flight, and since pterosaurs went extinct, the largest flying animal at any given time has been much smaller.
The largest flying animals that ever lived were members of the pterosaur family Azhadrichidae, flying reptiles that lived around the same time as dinosaurs, although they weren’t actually dinosaurs. The name “Azhadrichidae” comes from the word Ajdarxo, a dragon from Uzbek mythology. Two members of this family vying for the title of largest flying animal ever are Quetzalcoatlus, whose fossils have been found in North America, and Hatzegopteryx, found in Transylvania. Both of these animals had wingspans of 12 m (40 ft) or more, about the size of a school bus. By comparison, the largest flying animal today, the wandering albatross, has a wingspan of up to 3.7 m (12 ft).
Both of these pterosaurs lived in the Late Cretaceous, between about 85 and 65 million years ago, until they died out with the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. During the Mesozoic Era, pterosaurs had a niche similar to today’s birds, dominating the skies. They had little competition there, as no dinosaurs could fly and birds were not as numerous as they are today. The largest pterosaurs probably spent a lot of time on the ground as storks, and examination of their skeletons shows they would have been adept walkers, moving around using the long claws on the tips of their wings.
Before Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, scientists had discovered several large pterosaurs which were the largest flying animal known at any given time. Even though these were smaller than the aforementioned birds, scientists also tended to believe that each new large pterosaur discovered represented the largest an animal could be and still fly. This idea has been debunked time and time again, and there may be even bigger pterosaurs in the ground. Like birds, these animals had numerous specialized adaptations to decrease their weight for flight. Bones are filled with internal pits and cavities called alveoli.
The largest flying animal ever was also a descendant of the first vertebrates to take flight. Before the evolution of pterosaurs, only insects were able to fly. Since pterosaurs went extinct, the largest flying animal at any given time has been much smaller than in the past, giving us false ideas about how big the largest possible flying animal could possibly be. These fossil discoveries have changed our attitude on the matter.
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