How in the World Did This Giant Flying Animal Take off and Land!

Pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi was a veritable flying behemoth.

Transcript

00:00Quetzalcoatlus Northropi, or Q-Northropi for short.

00:07It walked, or rather flew around Earth, around 67 million years ago.

00:11But how does a creature this big even get airborne?

00:13Well according to a new study from the University of California Museum of Paleontology, it jumped.

00:19Q-Northropi's wingspan is a massive 36 feet wide, which would seem ideal for flight, but

00:23it could also grow to nearly 33 feet tall, meaning it had a lot of body to move.

00:28Which is why experts now believe the creatures would hop into the air, leaping up over 8

00:31feet into the sky before flapping their wings hard and taking off.

00:35Here's what paleontologist Kevin Padian had to say about the locomotive process.

00:39If they could jump twice their hip height, to 8 feet, the wings would be able to clear

00:42the ground, and they could execute a deeper flight stroke, adding they would land like

00:46an airplane, slowing themselves with their wings as they approach the ground, before

00:49touching down with its legs and then its arms.

00:52According to the experts, this is the first comprehensive study on the biomechanics of

00:56Q-Northropi since it was first discovered 50 years ago.