Quetzalcoatlus (ket-zal-koh-at-lus) is the largest known pterosaur, named after the Aztec feathered serpent deity Quetzalcoatl. It hails from the Late Cretaceous of the Javelina (Ha-vuh-lee-nah) Formation of Texas, USA. It is most famous for its extreme size, but the fragmentary nature of the type specimen makes calculating an exact size difficult. The discovery of a smaller, related species in 2021 from better fossil material has made Quetzalcoatlus’ reconstructions more accurate today than ever before. Quetzalcoatlus is part of a family of pterosaurs called azhdarchids, which encompasses other giants like Hatzegopteryx and Arambourgiania. Their distribution across the planet suggests giant pterosaurs may have had a worldwide range during the Late Cretaceous. While the exact diet of Quetzalcoatlus northropi (the animal in front of you) is still a mystery, it was most certainly a carnivore, and unlikely to be a strict piscivore or scavenger. The smaller species Q. lawsoni may have been a probe-feeder like modern sandpipers, using its long beak to take invertebrates from deep sand. Quetzalcoatlus northropi lived fittingly alongside the giant sauropod Alamosaurus and the giant ceratopsid Torosaurus. Despite the few fossils known from this species, it’s been beloved by millions since before it was even named. Hopefully, future discoveries of these giants will continue to shake the earth!