Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), 68–66 Ma
Restored Quetzalcoatlus skeleton
displayed in quadrupedal stance,
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Scientific classification Edit this 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
  • Q. lawsoni Andres and Langston Jr., 2021[1]

Quetzalcoatlus /kɛtsəlkˈætləs/ 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 after the tailless fixed-wing aircraft designer Jack Northrop. 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.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference andres2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).