Hatzegopteryx
Hatzegopteryx ("Hațeg basin wing") is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur. It was found in Transylvania, Romania. It is known only from the type species, Hatzegopteryx thambema, named in 2002 based on parts of the skull and humerus.[1] Additional fossils, including a neck vertebra, were included later. The largest of these remains shows that the Hatzegopteryx was one of the biggest pterosaurs, with an estimated wingspan of 10 to 12 metres (33 to 39 ft).
| Hatzegopteryx Temporal range: Maastrichtian,
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| Left humerus of the holotype specimen in ventral (A) and distal (B) view | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Pterosauria |
| Family: | Azhdarchidae |
| Subfamily: | Quetzalcoatlinae |
| Genus: | Hatzegopteryx Buffetaut et al., 2002 |
| Type species | |
| †Hatzegopteryx thambema Buffetaut et al., 2002
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It is unusual because it had a very wide skull with large muscular attachments. The bones had a soft internal texture instead of being hollow. it had a short, robust, and heavily muscled neck 1.5 metres (5 ft) long. This short neck was about half the length of other azhdarchids. The neck could withstand strong bending forces. Hatzegopteryx lived on Hațeg Island, an island in the Cretaceous subtropics within the prehistoric Tethys Sea. It was probably the apex predator of Hațeg Island, tackling larger prey (including dwarf titanosaurs and iguanodontians) than other azhdarchids.
Hatzegopteryx Media
Cast of an assigned wrist bone
Size comparison of Hatzegopteryx (red) with Pelagornis sandersi (orange) and royal albatross (green)
Cast of an assigned neck vertebra, Cleveland Natural History Museum
Hatzegopteryx (A-B, holotype in light grey and referred elements in dark grey) compared with Arambourgiania (C) and Quetzalcoatlus lawsoni (D-E)
Neck length of Hatzegopteryx (second from top) compared to comparable azhdarchids; Arambourgiania (at top), Quetzalcoatlus sp. (third from top)
Restoration of H. sp. preying on the iguanodont Zalmoxes
Map showing diverse Late Cretaceous azhdarchid assemblages worldwide
References
- ↑ Buffetaut, E.; Grigorescu, D.; Csiki, Z. (2002). "A new giant pterosaur with a robust skull from the latest Cretaceous of Romania" (PDF). Naturwissenschaften. 89 (4): 180–184. Bibcode:2002NW.....89..180B. doi:10.1007/s00114-002-0307-1. PMID 12061403. S2CID 15423666.