Quetzalcoatlus — printable fact sheet
Free to print or save as PDF. Great for classrooms, homeschooling, and young explorers.
Creature Atlas
Animal Fact Sheet
Name: ____________________
Date: ____________________
Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus northropi
Quetzalcoatlus northropi was an azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Texas with a wingspan estimated around 10 to 11 metres — the size of a small aeroplane — and yet it probably weighed only 200 to 250 kg, because its skeleton was a lattice of hollow, air-filled bone…
Did you know?
- Quetzalcoatlus northropi's wingspan rivals that of some small airplanes, making it one of the largest flying animals ever to exist.
- Pterosaurs are not dinosaurs and not the ancestors of birds — they are a separate flying reptile lineage, and their wing is supported by an enormously elongated fourth finger, not by an arm and feathers. Quetzalcoatlus is named for the Aztec feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, and the species epithet northropi honours Jack Northrop, designer of flying-wing aircraft. Nearly everything known about the giant Q. northropi comes from fragmentary wing bones found in Big Bend National Park in 1971 by a graduate student, Douglas Lawson.
What I learned
Draw the quetzalcoatlus
© Creature Atlas · www.creatureatlas.com · Free for classroom & personal use
Want the whole set?
Get printable fact-sheet packs, coloring pages, and classroom worksheet bundles for dozens of animals — ready to download and print.
Browse printable packsGet a free printable each week
Join the newsletter for a new Creature of the Week + printables.