Let’s talk about Hatzegopteryx, the king of the skies from Romania! Discovered in the 1970s, this massive pterosaur was even bigger than the famous Quetzalcoatlus, which was once thought to be the largest flying animal ever. With a wingspan of about 36 feet and weighing as much as a small truck, it was a true giant! Living on a secluded island, Hatzegopteryx ruled without competition, making it the biggest and heaviest pterosaur around. It was Europe’s top predator during the late Cretaceous period, and nothing messed with this flying titan. So, if you thought Quetzalcoatlus was the largest, think again! Credits: Ceratosaurus nasicornis walking: By Oleg Kuznetsov - 3depix, Epix Inc., https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98996430 Ceratosaurus: By Elekes Andor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82001279 Baltow JuraPark Ceratosaurus: By Krugerr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11328970 Dilophosaurus wetherilli: By Ryan Somma - https://flic.kr/p/5iXVEp, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8490215 Apatorhamphus holotype: By Smith, R.E.; Ibrahim, N.; Longrich, N.; Unwin, D.M.; Jacobs, M.L.; Williams, C.J.; Zouhri, S.; Martill, D.M. - Smith, R.E.; Ibrahim, N.; Longrich, N.; Unwin, D.M.; Jacobs, M.L.; Williams, C.J.; Zouhri, S.; Martill, D.M., https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-022-00642-6, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128415917 Ceratosaurus nasicornis DB: By DiBgd, CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2443219 Europasaurus holgeri Scene 2: By Gerhard Boeggemann, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1074277 Credit: CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0: Quetzalcoatlus: By Johnson Mortimer - http://johnson-mortimer.deviantart.com/art/Quetzalcoatlus-582934790, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49523137 Quetzalcoatlus 2: By Johnson Mortimer - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Quetzalcoatlus-582934326, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49523094 Quetzalcoatlus northropi: By Mark Witton, Darren Naish - Witton MP, Naish D, PLoS ONE 3(5): e2271. - doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002271, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4124334 Arambourgiania, Nyctosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus: By see above, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34946129 Dilofozaur PGI: By Hiuppo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2677855 Dilophosaurus wetherilli 3: By Wikipek, Geological Museum of the Polish Geological Institute, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7540067 CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0: Triassic Mural: By Carl Malamud - https://flic.kr/p/KDj6n, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13855593 Ceratosaurus & Dryosaurus: By Kordite - https://flic.kr/p/47Gijh, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4030916 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: QuetzalcoatlusROM: By Eduard Solà, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21098957 Tarbosaurus and Deinocheirus: By ABelov2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64948884 Palaeontinidae Distribution: By Dr. Ron Blakey - http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/derivative, ObsidinSoul, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15856121 Hatzegopteryx Leaps Off: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/Forests?file=Hatzegopteryx_Leaps_Off_Ha%C8%9Beg_Island.gif Hatzegopteryxes Leave Trieste: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/Hatzegopteryx?file=Hatzegopteryxes_Leave_Trieste.gif Hatzegopteryx old male: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Hatzegopteryx_old_male_with_juvenile_Tethyshadros_06.png Hatzegopteryx old male stares: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Hatzegopteryx_old_male_stares_up_after_finishing_nest_02.png Hatzegopteryx female answers: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Hatzegopteryx_female_answers_02.png Dilophosaurus2: By HombreDHojalata, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19860633 Dilophosaurus wetherilli 2: By Wikipek, Geological Museum of the Polish Geological Institute, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7457450 Ceratosaurus: By DinoTeam, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33796519 Ceratosaurus NT: By NobuTamura, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19459948 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Arambourgiania philadelphiae: By Mark Witton - https://peerj.com/articles/2908/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55123331 Pteranodon skeleton model: By Qualiesin, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86982002 Cryodrakon: By PaleoEquii, https://commons.wikimedia.o
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Recently, we discovered fossils of the ancient winged terror from Mongolia, a colossal pterosaur
00:07with a massive wingspan of 32 feet.
00:11This creature was the size of a small aircraft, towering as tall as a large bull giraffe when
00:16standing on the ground.
00:18There's even a chance that this was the largest flying animal to ever exist.
00:23It lived around 70 million years ago in a warm, dry habitat filled with dinosaurs.
00:30This predator was stalking its prey on the ground.
00:32Baby dinosaurs might have been its favorite meal.
00:36We don't have a name for this Mongolian fossil yet, but it's a groundbreaking discovery
00:40as the first pterosaur of its size found in this part of the world.
00:45And it wasn't the only terrifying pterosaur.
00:4870 million years ago, the Earth looked very different from today.
00:53Imagine a world where the continents weren't in their current positions, but instead were
00:57grouped together in different ways.
01:00There was no Atlantic Ocean yet, it was just forming.
01:03Soon, South America is going to split apart from Africa, and India will become its own
01:09separate island.
01:11It was the final days of the Mesozoic era.
01:14This period was divided into Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
01:19The land was covered with shallow oceans and seas with a lot of islands across North
01:24America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
01:27Parts of what is now the United States were underwater, between the Rocky Mountains and
01:31the Appalachians and Ozarks.
01:34If we were to look specifically at Virginia during this time, we would find it submerged
01:38under a shallow sea, part of the early Atlantic Ocean.
01:42The climate was surprisingly mild.
01:45The oceans and the planet in general were warmer and ice-free at the poles.
01:49First, flowering plants started to appear, which was great news for insects like ants,
01:55bees, and butterflies.
01:56And of course, it was a time when huge animals including our favorite dinosaurs roamed the
02:02land, ruled the seas, and dominated the skies.
02:06But it wasn't just dinosaurs, many new species of animals were appearing.
02:11Among them was the giant Quetzalcoatlus.
02:15Then a massive, flying reptile with wings as wide as a fighter jet.
02:20It was named after an Aztec deity, but let's call it Quetz for short.
02:25Quetz lived alongside dinosaurs, but were not dinosaurs themselves.
02:29It belonged to a family of majestic flying creatures, Azadricidae.
02:35These amazing beasts were named after a dragon in Uzbek mythology.
02:40It's not hard to see why.
02:43Starting in the late Cretaceous period, around 85 to 65 million years ago, Quetz and its
02:49kin ruled the skies.
02:51They had little competition from non-flying dinosaurs and fewer birds than we see today.
02:56They had special adaptations to stay light for flight, with bones filled with hollows
03:01and pits to reduce weight.
03:03And they weren't just airborne, they were skilled walkers too.
03:07They were strutting around like storks on the ground.
03:11There was another, lesser-known giant called Hatzigopteryx.
03:16Let's call it Hatz.
03:18This beast was discovered in Romania in the 70s.
03:21It's a hidden gem compared to the more famous Quetz.
03:25Most of them had wingspans over 40 feet.
03:27That's as big as a school bus!
03:29To give you an idea, today's largest flying animal, the wandering albatross, only has
03:35a 12-feet wingspan.
03:38Hatz called Hatag Island home.
03:40This place was like a paradise for these pterosaurs, rich in forests, rivers, and diverse wildlife,
03:46including dwarf dinosaurs.
03:48With few predators and plenty of resources, Hatz grew to immense proportions.
03:54It had a powerful jaw, a strong neck, and a sturdy body, making it a formidable predator.
04:01It might have even gone after dinosaurs!
04:04Surprisingly, despite its hefty build, Hatz could fly, maybe not long distances, but likely
04:10used its wings to explore the island.
04:14Movies often make dinosaurs seem scarier than they were in real life, but one dinosaur was
04:19actually more terrifying in reality than on screen.
04:23One of them was Dilophosaurus.
04:26You might remember it as a small venom-spitting dinosaur that played a minor role in Jurassic
04:30Park, but in reality, it was known as one of the kings of the Jurassic era.
04:36It lived about 180 million years ago, a bit earlier than the pterosaurs were mentioned.
04:41It faced tough conditions, with extreme seasons and large deserts.
04:47The first fossils of this monster were found in the 40s in northern Arizona, but they were
04:52mixed up with another dinosaur called Megalosaurus.
04:56Years later, a new fossil was found in the same area, and it had something special – two
05:02crests on its head.
05:04This meant it wasn't a Megalosaurus after all, so it got a new name – Dilophosaurus,
05:10meaning two-crested lizard.
05:13Contrary to what Jurassic Park showed, the real Dilophosaurus didn't have a frill around
05:17its neck.
05:18Instead, it had two big crests on its head, probably used for showing off or finding mates.
05:26This Dilophosaurus wasn't small.
05:28It wasn't as big as some later dinosaurs, but still huge – about the size of a large
05:33car.
05:34It weighed around 880 pounds, similar to a brown bear.
05:38It was the biggest land animal in North America during its time.
05:43Dilophosaurus was fierce.
05:45Its jaws were full of sharp teeth, perfect for hunting – either fish or land animals.
05:50It likely preyed on large animals, including other dinosaurs.
05:54Its arms were strong and had sharp claws, making it the top predator of its time, ruling
06:00over the entire North America.
06:03Late Jurassic North America was a tough place to live in general, especially in the western
06:08United States.
06:10The dry seasons were harsh, and only the biggest dinosaurs could survive there.
06:15It was like a land of giants.
06:18But size wasn't the only thing that mattered.
06:20There were smaller dinosaurs that could hold their own.
06:23One of them is Ceratosaurus.
06:25It made a huge fuss when it was discovered in 1883.
06:29While fossils of this nature are hard to find, its unique features make it easy to recognize.
06:35Plus, the fossils were almost complete, which helped us to describe them quickly.
06:41It had a face that could scare anyone, rows of sharp teeth, bony bumps over its eyes,
06:47and its most iconic feature – a horn on the nose, which was probably used for display
06:52or fighting.
06:54This horn earned Ceratosaurus its name.
06:57Our early reconstructions were wrong about its size and posture, though.
07:01Ceratosaurus was a medium-sized predator, but some individuals could grow up to 20 feet
07:06long and weigh over 2,000 pounds, like a hefty bison!
07:12Despite its smaller size compared to other dinosaurs, it didn't lag behind.
07:16It had strong legs for running and small but grasping arms.
07:21Ceratosaurus likely hunted a variety of prey, including other dinosaurs and possibly fish
07:27and smaller animals near water sources.
07:30Sadly, the reign of these majestic creatures came to an abrupt end around 66 million years
07:36ago.
07:37For a long time, we believed it was because of an asteroid impact, but our new computer
07:42simulations show that the main culprit might have been volcanoes.
07:48Big eruptions spewed gas-filled lava for about a million years.
07:52This gradually caused the changes in temperature and carbon levels in Earth's atmosphere.
07:58The Earth became darker and more toxic.
08:01Surprisingly, the asteroid strike that formed the Chicxulub crater in Mexico might not have
08:06released as much gas as previously thought.
08:09Of course, it still had other devastating effects.
08:13It kicked up clouds of dust that dimmed sunlight and caused a rapid drop in temperature.
08:18It also caused a massive tsunami and made the climate situation worse.
08:23However, there's a chance that the extinction itself happened because of the volcanoes and
08:28the asteroid was just hammering a nail, although it's not fully confirmed yet.
08:34Whatever the reason was, the Cretaceous period ended and these incredible beings disappeared
08:39from Earth forever.
08:4180% of the world's plants and animals were gone forever, not individuals, but entire
08:47species.
08:49Since the extinction of pterosaurs, the largest flying animals have been much smaller.
08:54So there's a chance that we're missing a link in our fossil records.
08:58Maybe one day we'll find it and reshape our understanding of bird evolution!
09:02That's it for today!
09:04So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:08friends!
09:09And if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!