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QuetzalcoatlusQuetzalcoatlus northropi, named after the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, was a pterodactyloid Pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of North America, and the largest known flying animal of all time. It was a member of the Azdarchidae, a group of advanced, toothless pterosaurs. Skeletal remains of two species have been recovered from the Big Bend Region of Texas; the larger of the two had a wingspan of up to 12m (40 feet). The first ever fossil was found by Douglas A. Lawson. During the Cretaceous, Texas' climate was similar to modern tropical coastal wetlands and lagoons, extending along the Cretaceous Seaway that filled the center of North America. Bones of related animals are also known from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. There are a number of different ideas about Quetzalcoatlus lifestyle. With its long neck vertebrae and long, toothless jaws it might have fed on fish like a heron, or perhaps it scavenged like the maribou stork. Presumably Quetzalcoatlus was able to take off under its own power, but once aloft it may have spent much of its time soaring. On the ground, Quetzalcoatlus probably walked on all fours. Along with the dinosaurs, Quetzalcoatlus became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period.
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