#azhdarchids

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 month ago

ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx figure, standing on table, with ReptiMax art behind.

ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx figure in flying pose, wings outspread, being held up in the air.

ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx figure, close-up of head and neck.

ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx figure, view of outstretched left wing.

Now up at the TetZooTowers_collection TikTok, a look at the big, fantastic ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx figure! Go to... vm.tiktok.com/ZNRyPtHG1/ #pterosaurs #azhdarchids #animalfigures

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 month ago

We have a good handle today on what giant #azhdarchids like #Quetzalcoatlus looked like, but there was a time when this wasn't so, and when artists were asked to depict animals of which they knew >nothing<! The result: the demonic Quetz designed by Giovanni Caselli... web.archive.org/web/20151114...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 month ago

#Pterosaurs are fascinating, and I particularly like the long-necked, toothless, long-jawed #azhdarchids. Palaeontologists had been haphazard in their views on what these animals were like in life, so a big event was the 2008 'terrestrial stalking' paradigm shift... web.archive.org/web/20180816...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

2 months ago

Demonic hellbeasts chowing down on fresh duckbill.

Stork-faced gronkers and a bloody feast.

Wittonian shaggy azhdarchids vs Littlefoot.

A glimpse of a ReptiMax Hatzegopteryx.

New at the TetZooTowers_collection TikTok... let's talk #azhdarchids (as portrayed in books, art and via models and toys)

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

5 months ago

Were azhdarchid pterosaurs really terrestrial stalkers? The evidence says yes, yes they (probably) were - Blogs

One thing I have to comment on. The authors say 'evidence points to #azhdarchids being terrestrial stalkers', but then say 'but see Averianov 2014' ... But this ignores the fact that @markwitton.bsky.social and I responded thoroughly to Averianov 2014... web.archive.org/web/20150516...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

5 months ago

Very exciting new study in PeerJ on #azhdarchids, with two new taxa (Gobiazhdarcho and Tsogtopteryx), multiple new clade names and new placements for key taxa... peerj.com/articles/197...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

8 months ago

Tapejarid Palaeobiology and the Concept of the ‘Giraffized’ Azhdarchid — Tetrapod Zoology The fossil record is a cruel and fickle mistress, and there are a vast many fossil animals for which key data on lifestyle and biology is simply not preserved, or – at least – not known. Yet…

Oh wow -- over 23 comments already! Come and talk about the supernecked giant flying frea-- friends of the Cretaceous, the #azhdarchids! Err, and their associates :) tetzoo.com/blog/2025/7/... #pterosaurs

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

8 months ago

Tapejarid Palaeobiology and the Concept of the ‘Giraffized’ Azhdarchid — Tetrapod Zoology The fossil record is a cruel and fickle mistress, and there are a vast many fossil animals for which key data on lifestyle and biology is simply not preserved, or – at least – not known. Yet…

It seems that some tapejarid #pterosaurs were herbivorous (partly so, at least). So - what of their cousins, the #azhdarchids? Could they have been herbivores too? A discussion inspired by @hodarinundu.bsky.social.... tetzoo.com/blog/2025/7/...

Gnarly-ish

@gnarly-ish.bsky.social

8 months ago

The Azhdar Kids! #azhdarchids #hatzegopteryx #quetzalcoatlus #azhdarkids #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #magicdinosaurs

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

8 months ago

The world's weirdest giants, decoded by science YouTube video by Howtown

I very much like this #HowTown video on #azhdarchids and what we know about them. Uses #PrehistoricPlanet as a launchpad, and includes contributions from @taissarms.bsky.social @markwitton.bsky.social and others... www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vea...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

10 months ago

Sibbick's painting of azhdarchids over the sea. Messed up contrast due to bad printer settings.

I'd forgotten that I own this postcard showing John Sibbick's art of Arambourgiania (the azhdarchid) as a marine skim-feeder. This is the view of #azhdarchids that Mark Witton and I were surrounded by when we did our research on azhdarchid ecology and functional morphology.

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

11 months ago

Prehistoric Planet Quetz pair feeding on alamosaur carcass.

The T. rex retreats and leaves the #azhdarchids to the corpse. Maybe he comes back in 5 mins, maybe he comes back tomorrow. I absolutely object to the people who have confidently claimed that this scene is problematic or ridiculous.

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

11 months ago

Quetz on beach with open bill making loud call; second individual out of focus in foreground.

Prehistoric Planet drone shot of beach with alamosaur carcass, T. rex nearby, and two big azhdarchids a bit further back.

In the sequence, two Quetzalcoatlus successful drive a T. rex from a carcass – at least for a short time while they eat a few kg of flesh from it. They make loud threatening noises (which are speculative: we have no good idea on what sounds #azhdarchids made)...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

11 months ago

Witton & Naish (2015) paper on azhdarchids, plus Mark Witton illustration from it where T. rex is shown alongside a giant azhdarchid, a maniraptoran and a human for scale.

Captain Deathbeast vs Killstorkodoom, a genuine and real screengrab from Mortal Kombat. Created by Mark Witton.

.... giant, long-billed, striding #azhdarchids wouldn’t necessarily have been ripped to pieces within seconds should they choose to wander about in Cretaceous terrestrial environments.

PLFA

@plfa.bsky.social

1 year ago

Real life dragons
X
Literally
X
X
X
#art #arte #digitalart #artedigital #study #draw #desenho #drawns #desenhos #paleoart #paleoarte #animals #pterosaur #pterossauro #Quetzalcoatlus #extinct #wings #azhdarchids

𓏟 Seb 𓃣

@chicagoseb.bsky.social

1 year ago

A panoramic prehistoric beach scene. To the left is a sandy bank with some bushes, two large palm trees and a baby pterosaur just about to take off. In the center, an Azhdarchid is flying and about to land. Below him and in the far distance is an island with plants swaying in the breeze and the head of a elasmosaur poking out of the sea. Closer to the viewer and on a tiny sandy island with a single palm tree is another Azhdarchid looking at the one in the sky as if waiting for him. To the right and in the far distance are two elasmosaur swimming out of the water temporarily. On the Sandy Bank to the right is a giant prehistoric crab and two Azhdarchid babies being curious about the world. In the close distance is a small lush island full of trees.

A late #cretaceous #fantasy #paleoart scene with some #Azhdarchids, babies included, a giant #crab and a bunch of #PalmTrees and vegetation all around.

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

Hatzegopteryx model, facing left, on arid ground, with model rocks and trees behind.

Hatzegopteryx model, facing right, on arid ground, with model rocks and trees behind.

Hatzegopteryx model, facing right, in display cabinet, surrounded by other models.

Well, here it is. The Xotic Sculpts #PrehistoricPlanet Hatzegopteryx, what a stunning model. Very pleased to have it as a top shelf item in my collection. #pterosaurs #azhdarchids

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

Small azhdarchid model on rock base, posed as if in flight with wings open.

Head of azhdarchid model. Yellow beak tissue, red crest and dewlap.

Yes, this Colorata azhdarchid looks very similar. Same colour scheme, same pteroid position, hmm. #pterosaurs #azhdarchids

𓏟 Seb 𓃣

@chicagoseb.bsky.social

1 year ago

Someone labelled this as "sexually suggestive" so I'll try again.
Watched #PrehistoricPlanet because I've always been fascinated, but I've never liked #dino designs.
The modern designs feel so real to me, not so fake.
Now OBSESSED with #Azhdarchids! 😍 #PaleoArt #PaleoArtist #Pterosaur #SciArt

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

Azhdarchid Progress, a Personal View — Tetrapod Zoology I’m a big fan of the fact that hypotheses and discoveries are sometimes built piecemeal…

New at Tetrapod Zoology .... it's been a while since we've talked about the #azhdarchids, right? tetzoo.com/blog/2024/10... #pterosaurs

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

A 1980s piece of palaeoart showing a group of red, demonic pterosaurs eating a dinosaur carcass.

The giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus portrayed as a red, long-necked, pin-headed carrion-eater. A piece of palaeoart from the 1970s.

A black and white drawing of a demonic-style Quetzalcoatlus.

A classic Tet Zoo article I published back in 2013 ... Quetzalcoatlus: the evil, pin-headed, toothy nightmare monster that wants to eat your soul web.archive.org/web/20151114... #pterosaurs #azhdarchids #paleoart

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

The Quetz Monograph Lives and Other News on Azhdarchid Pterosaurs — Tetrapod Zoology We might – right now – be in the Age of Peak Azhdarchid …

A 2021 update on where we're at with #azhdarchids and related #pterosaurs - numerous new species and even whole groups have been discovered since our initial 2008 paper - can be found here .... tetzoo.com/blog/2021/12...

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

An accompanying article at Tetrapod Zoology is here, though it's now only findable at wayback machine of course .... web.archive.org/web/20150401... #azhdarchids #pterosaurs AND....

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

A Reappraisal of Azhdarchid Pterosaur Functional Morphology and Paleoecology Azhdarchid pterosaurs were among the most widespread and successful of pterosaur clades, but their paleoecology remains controversial. Morphological features common to all azhdarchids include a long, ...

Read it yourself here .... It was one of the most newsworthy papers I've ever been involved in and generated a massive amount of interest (mostly because journalists had never even heard of #azhdarchids before) journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... #pterosaurs

Rob from Maryland

@peromyscus.bsky.social

1 year ago

These are my favorite extinct beasties, these #Azhdarchids #pterosaurs

Darren Naish

@tetzoo.bsky.social

1 year ago

A group of azhdarchids walking through a fern prairie; one has grabbed a baby sauropod. Image (c) Mark Witton.

#Azhdarchids have to be regarded as the most distinctive and unusual of #pterosaurs, and views on how they might have lived have varied considerably. In 2008, @markwitton.bsky.social and I examined the skeletal proportions, cranial anatomy and sedimentological setting of azhdarchids and concluded...