Hatzegopteryx

"Hatzegopteryx

The diversity of animal life on earth is truly fascinating. It is unthinkable how many animals have walked on the chest of this earth and found their wings in the sky on earth. We really know very little about this. Who ruled the earth when there was no species called Homo sapiens? As time goes on we are unraveling new mysteries that have disappeared under the ground. New fossils tell us new information about the ancient world that we never even thought about.

We all know that the world we live in today was once inhabited by giant dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were not just giants. Researchers have also found species of dinosaurs that resembled small hummingbirds. E.g.- Oculudentavis khaungraae. There were so many species of dinosaurs that they have successfully inhabited this earth not only on land, but also in water and even in the sky. The images we see of the ancient world from the fossils found today are not only fascinating but also terrifying. Even today we see dinosaur relatives flying in the sky. Such as birds. We roast the relatives of distant species of dinosaurs. Such as chicken.

However, today we are talking about a special species of dinosaur called Hatzegopteryx Thambema. You know what the Greek word pteryx means? "Wings". That means they were astronauts. And the word "Hatzeg" comes from the name of the town of Hateg in Transylvania where their fossils are found. Hatzegopteryx is the name of a genus of azdarchid pterosaur. The species was named Hatzegopteryx Thambema in 2002 from the skull and upper left bone found in Transylvania, as well as other parts of the neck bone. According to their fossils, they were,

"Among the biggest pterosaurs".

Their wingspan is approximately 10-12 meters or 33-39 feet. And the weight was 200-250 kg. Due to their hollow bones and relatively small bodies, their weight was much less despite being the largest pterosaurs. According to researchers, they lived in the Maastricht stage at the end of the Cretaceous period, 6 million years ago. At that time the Hateg of Transylvania was an island that was separated by the deep sea of ​​the Basin. In the midst of which lived this giant carnivorous theropod dinosaur sorry terosaur dinosaur. I'm not the only one who's mistaken for theropods, when researchers first found fossils of them, they thought they were fossils of theropod dinosaurs. Because the big theropods are much more common than the big pterosaurs. And they found very few fossils of this species, which led them to think theropods were wrong, even though they later realized they were wrong. Not only did they spread their wings, but their skull was about 10 feet 6 inches long Although their full jawed skulls have not yet been found, their jaws are estimated to be the largest of the terrestrial tretopods inhabiting the earth.

According to the researchers, they usually hunted other small dinosaurs on their island At first, scientists thought that Hatzegopteryx's eating habits were similar to those of other pterosaurs. They belonged to the group of Azdardchid pterosaurs. The Persian word azdar openly means dragon. Common azurids are characterized by stork-like long heads, long and soft necks, relatively short bodies, and the ability to fly.

According to scientists, pterosaurs are usually food thieves or eat food left over from others. But scientists now believe it is best to classify azdarchids as "terrestrial stalker" according to their size and shape. That is, although they were able to fly, they preferred to hunt on the ground E.g. Hornbill (these are usually Omnivorous).

Although other pterosaurs hunted much smaller animals than they did because of their weak long necks and weights, Hatzegopteryx did not. It is assumed that there was an aggressive strategy among them. According to research by paleontologists Witton and Naish, Hatzegopteryx's head and neck muscles could withstand a great deal of energy. Their jaws were also quite strong and they could make a much bigger yawn. Although some of their bodies resembled some Quetzalcoatlus (Erex species of pterosaur dinosaurs), the scales of Hatzegopteryx were stronger than others. Because of their huge bodies, they could not fly from one place to another like birds. Had to take a run-up to fly. Although other pterosaurs eat fish (piscivorous) and insectivorous, this is not the case with Hatzegopteryx. Their strong and sharp lips indicated that they were the top predators. They usually hunted dinosaurs such as Bradycnemes (Theropod dinosaurs), Magyarosaurs (Sauropod dinosaurs).