Quetzalcoatlus was a massive pterosaur which lived in North America at the end of the Cretaceous Period 72-66 million years ago. Fossils of it were first discovered in 1971 within the Javelina Formation of Big Bend National Park, Texas within rocks dating to the Maastrichtian Stage of the late Cretaceous Period. In 1975, Douglas Lawson officially named it Quetzalcoatlus northropi, named in honor of the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl and the aviation engineer Jack Northrop who designed the XB-35 tail-less bomber.
A second specimen Quetzalcoatlus was discovered by Douglas Lawson in 1972 just twenty-five miles away from where the first specimen was found. This one was smaller than the first one that had been found but it was also much more complete, and its fossils gave us a very good idea of what this animal looked like. However, it wasn’t until nearly fifty years later that it was determined to belong to a separate species, which was named Quetzalcoatlus lawsoni in 2021.
Quetzalcoatlus northropi gained fame in the final quarter of the 20th Century as the largest known pterosaur, with wingspan estimates commonly given at 40 feet wide or possibly even wider. However, more modern estimates claim that the wingspan was actually around 35 feet wide or thereabouts.
Due to the animal’s large size, large head, long neck, small body, and relatively small wings in proportion to body size compared to other pterosaurs, some have hypothesized that Quetzalcoatlus was incapable of flight and was gradually evolving to become a terrestrial predator similar to a carnivorous giraffe. However, numerous studies have been made of Quetzalcoatlus‘ anatomy and flight mechanics, and it’s been determined that it could still fly regardless of its bizarre proportions.
Quetzalcoatlus northropi. © Jason R. Abdale (November 14, 2025).
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