MESOZOIC QUICK FACT SERIES:
Azhdarchids: The Largest Creatures to Fly
Meet the rulers of the Cretaceous skies…
Mesozoic Quick Fact Series (MQFS) aims to provide interesting facts about various groups of extinct animals in a fun and readable way. We will focus on the highlights, so you don’t need to read extensive, time-consuming texts!
In this article, we will take a quick overview of the azhdarchids, a group of derived pterosaurs that includes the largest flying creatures that have ever lived.
Let’s jump right through!
Starting with the basics…
The family Azhdarchidae was erected after the discovery of the type species Azhdarcho lancicollis (1984), a pterosaur that lived in modern-day Kazakstan and Uzbekistan roughly 92 million years ago.
Its name derives from the word azhdar, a famous dragon-like creature from the Persian mythology. The specific epithet lancicollis refers to the Latin words lancea (meaning “lance” or “spear”) and collum (“neck”).
There were two main types of azhdarchid morphology: the “blunt-beaked” forms with shorter and deeper bills, and the “slender-beaked” ones with longer and thinner jaws.
