How do many scientists think it fed?

By stalking prey on the ground like a stork

Quetzalcoatlus Quiz: The Giraffe-Sized Flying Reptile

One of the largest flying animals ever lived over what is now Texas at the end of the age of dinosaurs, and this Quetzalcoatlus quiz explains how such a giant flew and fed. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on pterosaurs, Big Bend, Douglas Lawson's 1971 find, wingspan, azhdarchids, ground stalking, quad launching, the Aztec name and its weight.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Group
What kind of animal was Quetzalcoatlus?
Wingspan
Roughly how wide was its wingspan?
Height
How tall might it have stood on the ground?
Place
Where were its fossils found?
Finder
Who discovered the first fossils in 1971?
Period
When did it live?
Family
Which pterosaur family did it belong to?
Feeding
How do many scientists think it fed?
Launch
How might it have taken off?
Name
Where does its name come from?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What kind of animal was Quetzalcoatlus?
Answer: A pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles.
Q2: Roughly how wide was its wingspan?
Answer: About 10 meters
Similar to a small plane.
Q3: How tall might it have stood on the ground?
Answer: About as tall as a giraffe
Its neck and head were enormous.
Q4: Where were its fossils found?
Answer: Big Bend in Texas
In Big Bend National Park.
Q5: Who discovered the first fossils in 1971?
Answer: Douglas Lawson
He was a geology student.
Q6: When did it live?
Answer: Late Cretaceous
Around 68 to 66 million years ago.
Q7: Which pterosaur family did it belong to?
Answer: Azhdarchids
They had long, stiff necks.
Q8: How do many scientists think it fed?
Answer: By stalking prey on the ground like a stork
It may have snapped up small animals.
Q9: How might it have taken off?
Answer: By vaulting with its folded wings
This is called quad launching.
Q10: Where does its name come from?
Answer: The Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl
The name suits a giant flier.

Quetzalcoatlus Quiz – The Giraffe-Sized Flying Reptile

Quetzalcoatlus was a giant pterosaur, a flying reptile rather than a dinosaur, that lived in the Late Cretaceous about 68 to 66 million years ago. Douglas Lawson found its fossils in Big Bend, Texas, in 1971.

Its wingspan reached about 10 meters, and standing on the ground it was roughly as tall as a giraffe. It belonged to the azhdarchids, pterosaurs with long, stiff necks, and many scientists think it stalked small prey on the ground like a stork.

Despite its size, it was lightly built, possibly weighing around 200 to 250 kg. It likely took off by vaulting with its folded wings, called quad launching. Its name honors the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl.

What This Quiz Teaches

Science and dinosaur fans will enjoy these questions.

What Quetzalcoatlus was
How big it grew
Where it was found
How it fed
How it flew

Did You Know?

Its bones were hollow to save weight.
Hatzegopteryx was a similar giant from Romania.
It may have soared on thermals for long distances.
A smaller species also lived in Texas.
A 2021 study described its anatomy in detail.