Review of Life Stories – Quetzalcoatlus

In yesterday evening’s, Radio 4 broadcast, naturalist and presenter Sir David Attenborough discussed Quetzalcoatlus (Q. northropi).  In this ten minute programme, part of the “Life Stories” series written and presented by Sir David, he talked about the discovery of the first pterosaur fossils, how the name pterodactyl came into scientific usage (merci Cuvier), and the finding of the fragmentary fossils of a huge flying reptile in Texas in 1971.

Quetzalcoatlus

It was great to hear him discuss the contribution of Mary Anning and his thoughts on how Quetzalcoatlus, the name of the flying reptile discovered in Texas, might have lived.  The long stiff neck and the large, toothless beak may have been used to probe inside the carcases of dead dinosaurs.  Sir David had observed vultures with their long necks reaching inside the body cavities of dead antelopes in Africa, so he surmised that an animal such as Quetzalcoatlus may have had a similar niche in the Late Cretaceous food chain.

The talk was delivered in Sir David’s usual elegant and erudite style, just a couple of points that our sharp-eared team members who listened picked up on.  Firstly, the concept of Quetzalcoatlus scavenging the carcases of T. rex and Giganotosaurus was mentioned.  Whilst in theory, Quetzalcoatlus could have fed on the remains of Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus (G. carolini) lived in South America a long way from where the fossil remains of this pterosaur have been found and indeed, Giganotosaurus lived millions of years earlier.

Also, although other Azhdarchidae fossil sites (Quetzalcoatlus is a member of the Azhdarchidae pterosaur family), were briefly mentioned, there is  a debate as to whether this particular pterosaur is the largest flying creature known to science.  Recently, the fossils of another large pterosaur have been uncovered in eastern Europe.  This animal has been named Hatzegopteryx (H. thambema) and it may have had an even bigger wingspan.

A Drawing of the Azhdarchid Pterosaur Hatzegopteryx

Huge pterosaur! Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Large Pterosaur Fossils

However, these points are only minor.  It would have been good to have heard a little about Sir David’s views on the fact that until the discovery of the fossils of Quetzalcoatlus, large pterosaur fossils were nearly all associated with marine environments, whereas Quetzalcoatlus many have lived far inland.  It was wonderful to hear how enthusiastically Sir David described watching a remote controlled pterosaur model flying over the Dorset cliffs, as part of a television documentary programme.

Try to catch the repeat if you can on Radio 4 this Sunday at 8.45am or thereabouts.

To view models and replicas of pterosaurs and other prehistoric animals: Pterosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animal Models.

Highlights on Television and Radio this Week

Tonight the BBC are showing a documentary entitled “Attenborough and the Giant Egg”, this is part of the BBC Natural History Unit’s documentary series on the amazing fauna and flora of Madagascar.  These programmes have been narrated by Sir David Attenborough and the programme being shown tonight recounts Sir David’s quest to find out more about the Elephant Bird that once lived on the island.

Elephant Bird

The hour long programme starts at 8pm on BBC2, it combines archive footage of Sir David’s Zoo Quest television show which documented his visit to Madagascar in 1960, with an update on the story.

Back in 1960 he tried to piece together a egg from the giant Elephant bird, (Aepyornis genus), which lived on the island before being wiped out by hunters in the 17th century.  This flightless bird was one of the most massive birds known to science and certainly the largest seen by modern people.

Pieces of Eggshell

David enquired amongst locals for pieces of eggshell and offered a reward for any pieces that could be found.  He was inundated with fragments and then one native brought him an almost complete egg.  He was astonished at just how many pieces of egg shell that turned up and the documentary tonight, filmed fifty years later, goes in search of the birds that laid these eggs.

Should be a fascinating programme.

Also, don’t forget to tune into Radio 4, Friday 8.50pm GMT (repeated Sunday mornings 08.50am GMT) for the latest instalment of David Attenborough’s Life Stories.  In the next programme, Sir David discusses his fascination with fossils.  So this week we have both compulsive viewing and listening to look forward to.

For models and replicas of extinct animals and prehistoric creatures: Mojo Fun Extinct Animals and Prehistoric Animal Figures.