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- "Quetzalcoatlus, Late Cretaceous should have stayed there"
- —Kayla Watts upon the arrival of a Quetzalcoatlus(src)
Quetzalcoatlus was a pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas (Maastrichtian stage, 72.1–66.0 million years ago). It was a member of the Azhdarchidae, a family of advanced toothless pterosaurs with unusually long, stiffened necks. Its name comes from the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. It was also famous for being the largest species of any animal to ever fly. The type species is Q. northropi, named by Douglas Lawson in 1975; the genus also includes the smaller species Q. lawsoni, which was known for many years as an unnamed species before being named by Brian Andres and Wann Langston Jr. (posthumously) in 2021.
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Wikipedia has a more detailed and comprehensive article on Quetzalcoatlus |
Jurassic Park Franchise[]
Quetzalcoatlus is featured in the art gallery of Jurassic Park Institute.
Discovery[]
The first Quetzalcoatlus fossils were discovered in Texas, United States, from the Maastrichtian Javelina Formation at Big Bend National Park (dated to around 68 million years ago) in 1971 by Douglas A. Lawson, a geology graduate student from the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. The specimen consisted of a partial wing (in pterosaurs composed of the forearms and elongated fourth finger), from an individual later estimated at over 10 meters (33 feet) in wingspan.
Characteristics[]
InGen original individuals in the seventh film bare no resemblance to the modern construction of Quetzalcoatlus or any other azhdarchid, possessing a keel on its beak akin to contemporary reconstructions of Quetzalcoatlus. They are smaller than the individuals previously encountered, being described as having a wingspan the length of a fighter jet, more in-line with their prehistoric counterparts. They are a dark grey, with wing membranes that are blue on the outside and orange on the inside, an orange beak and throat, and blue pycnofibres and stripes on the back of their neck.
Biosyn’s Quetzalcoatlus clones (if they were cloned by this company at all, although unlikely since some were present outside the sanctuary) greatly resemble their real-life counterpart's modern reconstruction. The crest is blue, and the wings are black and light orange. Like the real animal, they are covered in pycnofibers, which are light grey, with a tuft of black pycnofibers on the back of the head. Unlike the other cloned pterosaurs, they have four toes that don’t seem to be used to grab onto things. Instead of a wingspan of 10-11 meters, clones have a wingspan of potentially 30 metres or more.
Behavior[]
Quetzalcoatlus are known to be apex predators of the skies, feeding on live preys, but also corpses of other animals. They seem to aggressively defend their food, snapping at a flock of Pteranodon to keep them away. Like Pteranodon though, Quetzalcoatlus views planes as threats, as seen with one individual attacking Kayla's plane in the Biosyn Sanctuary. Quetzalcoatlus has been observed to build nests of sticks and branches like modern birds, with its location usually cliffsides or skyscrapers in order for safety and suitability for breeding. The eggs are taken care by a pair of this pterosaur, but also other individuals, possibly family members. As seen when attacking a team that tried to extract DNA from one of their eggs, the Quetzalcoatlus seem to be protective of their nests, sometimes returning to it to check whether said nests are safe and, if not, try and eliminate anything they perceive as a threat to their eggs.
Three Quetzalcoatlus flew near a large flock of geese and Pteranodon, following the flock's flight path. It's unknown if the Quetzalcoatlus were migrating with the flock or hunting them.
History[]
In the Past[]
During the Cretaceous, four Quetzalcoatlus landed near a group of Pteranodons while one of them was scavenging the carcass of an unknown animal.
Another one was passing nearby a Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex fighting.[1]
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory[]
Season 4[]
A Quetzalcoatlus attacks the Biosyn Drone Helicopter carrying Darius Bowman, Brooklynn, Ben Pincus and Yasmina Fadoula, but it's driven off by the Aerial Deterrent System upon entering Biosyn Valley.[2]
Later on, Kenji and Brooklynn sees a Quetzalcoatlus chasing after Kayla's plane.
A Quetzalcoatlus attacks the Nublar Six at the remote Research Outpost. During the fight, Darius manages to shoot the pterosaur with two tranquilizer darts, making it drowsy enough for the group to make a break for it in Henry Wu's car. The Quetzalcoatlus attacks again, dragging the car into the air, but the effects of the darts cause it to drop the vehicle into a tree and fly away.[3]
Jurassic World: Dominion[]
By 2022, the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife had a confirmed sighting of a pair of Quetzalcoatlus circling the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.[4]
In the year 2022, a nest is seen atop One World Trade Center in New York City containing one individual with another, presumably its mate, flying nearby. At least one adult individual was housed in Biosyn's sanctuary. The corporation's sanctuary has an Aerial Deterrent System (ADS), which keeps pterosaurs safely below 500 ft and away from inbound and outbound aircraft. However, the ADS was disabled when Kayla's plane entered Biosyn's airspace. The Quetzalcoatlus attacked Owen, Claire, and Kayla on the plane on their way to Biosyn headquarters, before managing to escape them and flies away. Quetzalcoatlus were part of the animals that escape the forest fire caused by engineering locusts. At the end of the film, three Quetzalcoatlus were seen flying with a mix-flock of Pteranodons and geese.
Jurassic World: Rebirth[]
- "Do we have to get a sample from an egg?"
"I suppose we can try and get it from the parent, but they're a flying carnivore the size of an F-16." - —Martin Krebs and Henry Loomis discussing the acquisition of the Quetzalcoatlus DNA sample.(src)
During the incident involving the escape of the Distortus rex in 2010, a scientist is seen performing a dissection on a juvenile Quetzalcoatlus in a secret InGen research facility.
This Quetzalcoatlus variant was created by InGen sometime before 2010 on Ile Saint-Hubert, where the company owned an early research facility for Jurassic World. It was one of the three massive dinosaur/prehistoric creature species, alongside Mosasaurus and Titanosaurus, targeted by Parker-Genix to collect blood samples to create a drug called Paleodioxin that could possibly cure heart diseases. It nested in a carved structure on a natural ledge, where Dr. Loomis and Zora Bennett collected a sample from an embryo in an egg. It would end up swallowing LeClerc, a member of Duncan Kincaid's team, whole, when the mercenary attempted to escape after distracting it from Dr. Loomis and Bennett.
It is uncertain whether the Biosyn variant of Quetzalcoatlus still exists in the Biosyn Sanctuary or is in suitable environments for them to live elsewhere in the world, given the current climate and diseases.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Jurassic World: Dominion[]
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory[]
Jurassic World: Rebirth[]
Promotional Material[]
As seen in the gallery, multiple promotional posters featuring the Quetzalcoatlus were made for both Jurassic World: Dominion and Jurassic World: Rebirth, but other promotional material featuring the creature was made as well. For Jurassic World: Dominion's promotion, the Dinotracker website was made, which featured the Quetzalcoatlus, although there were no sightings of the species on the website. Also relating to Dinotracker, Jurassic World: Rebirth's promotion made the website defunct, although the Quetzalcoatlus most likely wasn't featured in it. As part of Rebirth’s promotion, a video called Jurassic World Rebirth | Quetzalcoatlus Cam was posted on the official Jurassic World YouTube channel. A Fandom ad for Jurassic World: Rebirth was also made, which had a video comprised of multiple clips from the movie, along with a photo of Zora Bennett encountering the Quetzalcoatlus. There was also a "Get Up Close Now" button, which would show a fully animated Dilophosaurus spraying venom at you when pressed. When going down, the add will shrink and show the Tyrannosaurus rex going after Xavier Dobbs, Reuben Delgado, Isabella Delgado, and Teresa Delgado. The add will not change back to its first version when it changes to its second version, but the video from the first version is still there, and the Get Up Close Now button does the same thing as it did on the first version. Pictures of the first and second versions of the ad are in the gallery.
Trivia[]
- In Jurassic World: Rebirth, the skeleton of an InGen variant Quetzalcoatlus is visible in the Natural History Museum of North America at the beginning of the film. Neither species of Quetzalcoatlus share its physical characteristics in real life.
References[]
- ↑ Only seen in the prologue, but it was included in Dominion's extended version.
- ↑
Chaos Theory: Season 4 – "Arrival"
- ↑ Chaos Theory: Season 4 – "Give & Take"
- ↑ Dinotracker.com
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