Russian paleontologist studied the largest flying reptiles
English paleontologist Alexander Averianov presented a large-scale study of taxonomy and habitat areas of azhdarchids - family flying reptiles (pterosaurs).
This group includes the largest flying creation in the history of the Earth, for the beginning of Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcoatlus). Review published in the journal ZooKeys.
Despite her enormous size, azhdarchid were toothless. Their toothy lost relatives already in the Turonian century (early late Cretaceous) due to unknown causes. "The establishment of the championship toothless pterodactyls reflects a fundamental shift in the ecosystem of the Cretaceous period, which we are still poorly understood," says Averianov.
Azhdarchid very fragmentarily represented in the fossil record because their bones are more fragile than other dinosaurs. Most fossils of this family remained only in sediments exemplary quality (so-called Konservat-Lagerst
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