![]() “There are two types of soaring: thermal soaring, which uses updrafts to ascend and glide, such as eagles and frigatebirds and dynamic soaring, which uses wind gradients over the ocean, as in the case of albatrosses and petrels,” the researchers explained. Yusuke Goto from Nagoya University and the Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé and colleagues calculated and compared the ability of Pelagornis sandersi, Argentavis magnificens, Pteranodon, Quetzalcoatlus, the wandering albatross, the California condor ( Gymnogyps californianus), the magnificent frigatebird ( Fregata magnificens) and the kori bustard ( Ardeotis kori) to soar using wind and air currents in an energy-efficient way. Image credit: Goto et al., doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac023. The pink arrows indicate the transition from a previous expectation or hypothesis to the knowledge updated in the study. ![]() The icons indicate dynamic soarer, thermal soarer, and poor soarer, and summarize the main results of this study. The azhdarchids are one of the most successful Cretaceous pterosaur groups and include several large species with wingspans of approximately 9-12 m.Īlthough their huge sizes have been led debate about whether they were flightless, Quetzalcoatlus northorpi, an azhdarchid species, is often regarded as one of the largest flying animals in history.Ī size comparison and soaring styles of extinct giant birds ( Pelagornis sandersi and Argentavis magnificens), pterosaurs ( Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus), the largest extant dynamic soaring bird (wandering albatross), the largest extant thermal soaring terrestrial bird (California condor), a large extant thermal soaring seabird (magnificent frigatebird), and the heaviest extant volant bird (kori bustard). Pteranodon, arguably the most famous pterosaur, is estimated to have had a wingspan of 6-7 m. Several large species of pterosaurs appeared in the Cretaceous period. Their estimated wingspans reached 6-7 m, twice as large as that of the wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans), the living bird species with the longest wingspan. Among them, there have been exceptionally large species of birds and pterosaurs.Īmong the many extinct giant bird species, Pelagornis sandersi (from the Late Oligocene, approximately 25-28 million years ago) and Argentavis magnificens (from the Upper Miocene, approximately 6 million years ago) are the largest volant birds. Image credit: James Kuether.įlying animals have evolved a wide range of body sizes. They found that Quetzalcoatlus was less suited to flying in updrafts than the extant birds, and Pelagornis sandersi was better suited to flying in updrafts above the sea, similar to frigatebirds, rather than using albatross-like dynamic soaring.Īn artist’s rendition of Quetzalcoatlus northropi. In a new study, scientists from Nagoya University, the University of Tokyo and the Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé used aerodynamic models to comprehensively quantify soaring performances and wind requirements of these extinct species and compared them with extant soaring birds. Conversely, Pelagornis sandersi (7 m wingspan), one of the largest extinct volant birds, was thought to have flown using dynamic soaring like albatrosses, using differences in wind speed with height above the sea surface. First discovered in 1971, this pterosaur was thought to have flown over land using updrafts like condors and eagles. ![]() With a 11 to 12-m wingspan, Quetzalcoatlus is the largest flying organism ever known and one of the most familiar pterosaurs to the public.
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