With a wingspan of up to 40 ft. and a beak that’s 8.2 ft. long, the quetzalcoatlus is the biggest animal to have ever flown. When standing it would have been eye-to-eye with a giraffe!
It’s giant wings allowed it to launch itself to a speed of 35 mph with a single powerful press up — and, yes, in the air the quetzalcoatlus could travel at speeds up to 80 mph!
Once airborne, it could glide for hundreds of miles without a single flap and scientists believe it would have regularly covered 400 miles a day.
The quetzalcoatlus is one of the featured pterosaurs (flying vertebrates) in “Flying Monsters,” a 3D film now showing at Hastings Museum. So be sure to come check it out!