Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus /kɛtsəlkoʊˈætləs/ is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian age of North America. Its name comes from the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. The type species is Q. northropi, named by Douglas Lawson in 1975. The genus also includes the smaller species Q. lawsoni, which was known for many years as an unnamed species, before being named by Brian Andres and Wann Langston Jr. (posthumously) in 2021. Q. northropi has gained fame as a candidate for the largest flying animal ever discovered.
| Quetzalcoatlus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), | |
|---|---|
| Restored Quetzalcoatlus skeleton displayed in quadrupedal stance, Houston Museum of Natural Science | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Azhdarchidae |
| Subfamily: | †Quetzalcoatlinae |
| Genus: | †Quetzalcoatlus Lawson, 1975 |
| Type species | |
| †Quetzalcoatlus northropi Lawson, 1975 | |
| Other species | |
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