Parlons de Hatzegopteryx, le roi des cieux roumains ! Découvert dans les années 1970, ce ptérosaure massif était encore plus grand que le célèbre Quetzalcoatlus, autrefois considéré comme le plus grand animal volant jamais connu. Avec une envergure d'environ 11 mètres et pesant autant qu'un petit camion, il était un véritable géant ! Vivant sur une île isolée, Hatzegopteryx régnait sans concurrence, ce qui en faisait le plus grand et le plus lourd des ptérosaures. C'était le plus grand prédateur d'Europe à la fin du Crétacé, et rien n’osait se frotter à ce titan volant. Donc, si vous pensiez que Quetzalcoatlus était le plus grand, réfléchissez-y à nouveau ! Crédits : Ceratosaurus nasicornis marchant : Par Oleg Kuznetsov - 3depix, Epix Inc., https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98996430 Ceratosaurus : Par Elekes Andor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82001279 Baltow JuraPark Ceratosaurus : Par Krugerr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11328970 Dilophosaurus wetherilli : Par 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 : Par 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 : Par DiBgd, CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2443219 Europasaurus holgeri Scène 2 : Par Gerhard Boeggemann, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1074277 Animation créée par Sympa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Musique par Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com Pour ne rien perdre de Sympa, abonnez-vous!: https://goo.gl/6E4Xna ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nos réseaux sociaux : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sympasympacom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sympa.officiel/ Stock de fichiers (photos, vidéos et autres): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Si tu en veux encore plus, fais un tour ici: http://sympa-sympa.com
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00:00Fossils of the ancient winged terror of Mongolia have recently been discovered.
00:04A gigantic pterosaur with an impressive wingspan of nearly 10 meters.
00:09This beast, comparable in size to a small plane, could stand up to a large-sized moth when it stood on the ground.
00:17It is even possible that it is the largest flying animal to have ever existed.
00:21This predator lived about 70 million years ago in an arid and hot environment populated with dinosaurs.
00:27It tracked its prey directly on the ground, and young dinosaurs were probably among its favorite mammals.
00:34This Mongolian fossil has not yet been baptized, but it represents a major scientific advance,
00:39marking the discovery of the first pterosaur of this size in this region of the world.
00:44In addition, it was not the only pterosaur to inspire fear.
00:4870 million years ago, the Earth had a very different face from the one we know today.
00:54Imagine a world where the continents were arranged in a disparate way, far from their current locations.
01:00The Atlantic Ocean did not yet exist and was in the process of formation.
01:03South America was about to detach itself from Africa, while India would become an entirely separate island.
01:09These were the last days of the Mesozoic Era, divided into three distinct periods, the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous.
01:17The Earth's surface was dotted with shallow seas and oceans,
01:21with multiple archipelagos scattered throughout America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
01:26Some regions of the current territory of the United States were submerged.
01:30In particular, the areas located between the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachians and the Mons Ozarks.
01:36By observing Virginia at this time, one would have discovered it engulfed, under a shallow sea,
01:41being part of the primitive Atlantic.
01:44The climate was particularly pleasant.
01:46The oceans, like the planet in general, displayed higher temperatures, and the poles were devoid of ice.
01:53The first flowering plants began to emerge.
01:57An omen for insects such as ants, bees and butterflies.
02:01Of course, it was also an era dominated by the gigantic creatures that are the dinosaurs,
02:07which roamed the lands, reigned over the oceans, and settled in the sky.
02:12But it was not just dinosaurs.
02:15Because many new animal species were also appearing.
02:18Among these creatures was the gigantic Quetzalcoatlus.
02:22Imagine an imposing-sized flying reptile, with wings extending as wide as that of a fighter plane.
02:28Its name is inspired by an Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake.
02:33Although it coexisted with the dinosaurs, it was not part of this category.
02:38It belonged to the Ashdarkidae family, a majestic group of flying creatures.
02:44These fascinating animals take their name from a dragon from Uzbek mythology,
02:48and it is easy to understand why.
02:51During the end of the Cretaceous, about 85 to 65 million years ago,
02:56Quetzalcoatlus and his peers dominated the skies.
02:59They had little competition from terrestrial dinosaurs,
03:02and the number of birds was much lower than what we know today.
03:07They had specific adaptations for flight.
03:10Their bones were provided with cavities and perforations to reduce their weight.
03:15In addition, they were not limited to flying.
03:18They also proved to be agile on the ground, walking with ease like storks.
03:23Another giant, less known, was called Hatzegopteryx.
03:27To simplify, we will call it Hatz.
03:30This creature was born in Romania in the 1970s.
03:34Compared to the famous Quetzalcoatlus, Hatz remains a discreet discovery.
03:38Both possessed a wingspan exceeding 12 meters,
03:42the equivalent of the size of a school bus.
03:45To give you an order of magnitude, the Albatross Screamer,
03:48the largest flying animal today, does not exceed 3 meters in wingspan.
03:53Hatzegopteryx found refuge on the island of Hatag,
03:56a real harbor for scepterosaurs.
03:59This place was full of forests, rivers, and a diversified fauna,
04:03including dwarf dinosaurs.
04:05With few predators and an abundance of resources,
04:08Hatz was able to grow to reach gigantic dimensions.
04:11Endowed with a powerful jaw, a robust neck, and an imposing body,
04:16it was a formidable predator, capable of taking on dinosaurs.
04:20Despite its corpulence, Hatz was nevertheless able to fly,
04:24even if it was probably not for long distances.
04:28He probably used his wings to move across the island.
04:32Films tend to exaggerate the fear that dinosaurs arouse
04:35in relation to their historical reality.
04:37But there was a dinosaur whose true appearance
04:40was even more terrifying than the one shown on the screen.
04:43Among them is the Dilophosaurus,
04:45which you may know as this little venomous dinosaur
04:48that dies on screen in the first Jurassic Park.
04:51In reality, it was considered one of the true rulers of the Jurassic era.
04:56This predator lived about 180 million years ago,
05:00that is, long before the Pterosaurs previously mentioned.
05:03It had to face difficult conditions,
05:05with extreme seasons and vast desert expanses.
05:08The first fossils of this creature were discovered in the 1940s
05:12in northern Arizona, but were confused with those of Megalosaurus.
05:16It was only years later that a distinct fossil,
05:19with two ridges on the skull,
05:21made it possible to differentiate it and give it a new name.
05:24Dilophosaurus, the lizard with two ridges.
05:27Contrary to the image conveyed in Jurassic Park,
05:30the real Dilophosaurus had no ridges around its neck.
05:33Instead, it had two large ridges on its head,
05:37probably intended for intimidation or attraction of partners.
05:41This dinosaur was not small.
05:43Although it was not as gigantic as some of its successors,
05:47it still reached the dimensions of a large car
05:50and weighed about 400 kg, a weight similar to that of a brown bear.
05:56It dominated the terrestrial fauna in North America at the time.
06:00The Dilophosaurus was formidable.
06:02Its jaws filled with sharp teeth were perfectly adapted
06:06to hunt both fish and terrestrial prey.
06:09It was probably attacking large animals, including other dinosaurs.
06:14Its powerful limbs, with clenched claws,
06:17made it the main predator of its time,
06:20reigning over all of North America.
06:23The end of the Jurassic in North America,
06:25especially in the west of the United States,
06:28offered difficult living conditions.
06:30The dry seasons were rough,
06:32and only the most imposing dinosaurs could survive,
06:35transforming this region into a real land of giants.
06:39However, size was not the only determining factor.
06:42Some smaller dinosaurs knew how to pull their pin from the game.
06:46The Ceratosaurus is a good example of this.
06:49When it was discovered in 1883, it was sensational.
06:53Although these fossils are rather rare,
06:56its distinctive features make it easy to identify it.
06:59In addition, the fossils found were almost complete,
07:02thus facilitating their description.
07:05Its appearance was intimidating, with clenched teeth,
07:08bone protuberances above the eyes,
07:11and its most emblematic feature, a horn on the nose,
07:15probably used for parading or fighting.
07:18It was this horn that earned it its name.
07:21Our first reconstitutions, however,
07:24were wrong about its size and posture.
07:27Although the Ceratosaurus is considered a medium-sized predator,
07:31some specimens could reach 6 meters long
07:34and weigh more than 900 kilos,
07:36the equivalent of a bison.
07:38Despite its modest size, compared to other dinosaurs,
07:41it did not let itself be distanced.
07:43Its powerful jaws allowed it to run,
07:46and its arms, although reduced, were its prehensile.
07:49This formidable hunter probably fed on various prey,
07:52including other dinosaurs,
07:54but also fish and smaller animals near water points.
07:57Alas, the reign of these majestic creatures
08:00ended abruptly about 66 million years ago.
08:04For a long time, this event has been attributed
08:07to the impact of an asteroid.
08:09However, recent computer simulations
08:12suggest that the real culprit could actually have been
08:16the volcanoes.
08:17Volcanic eruptions have poured rich lava into gas
08:20over a period of about 1 million years,
08:23which has gradually altered the temperature
08:25and carbon levels in the Earth's atmosphere.
08:28The planet has thus become darker and less breathable.
08:31Surprisingly, the impact of the asteroid
08:34at the origin of the Mexican crater of Chicxulub
08:36may not have released as much gas as was thought before.
08:40Nevertheless, it has led to other disastrous consequences.
08:43The raised dust clouds have masked the sun's light,
08:46causing a rapid drop in temperatures,
08:49a gigantic tsunami and an aggravation of the climate crisis.
08:52It is possible that the extinction was mainly due to volcanism,
08:56while the asteroid would only have sunk the last nail.
08:59That said, this hypothesis remains to be confirmed.
09:02In any case, the Cretaceous period has come to an end,
09:05and these fascinating beings have disappeared from Earth forever.
09:0980% of the plants and animals on the planet have disappeared,
09:13not as individuals, but as entire species.
09:17Since the extinction of pterosaurs,
09:19the largest flying animals have been much smaller.
09:22It is therefore possible that a link is missing in our fossil archives.
09:26Perhaps one day we will discover this missing link
09:29that will shake our understanding of the evolution of birds.