Hatzegopteryx

pterosaur · giant flyer · ancient reptile · Romania

Enormous wingspan. Hatzegopteryx had wings that stretched 10 to 12 meters from tip to tip, making it one of the largest pterosaurs that ever lived. That's about the length of a small school bus.

Partial fossil find. Scientists only found pieces of Hatzegopteryx's skull and arm bone when they first discovered it in 2002. Later, they found more bones like neck vertebrae that helped them understand how big this creature really was.

Romanian discovery. Hatzegopteryx lived in Transylvania, Romania, during the very end of the dinosaur age, about 66 million years ago. Its fossils were found in rocks from the Densuș-Ciula Formation.

Azhdarchid pterosaur. Hatzegopteryx belonged to a special group of pterosaurs called azhdarchids, which were the last and largest flying reptiles before pterosaurs went extinct.