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randomdinos — Stem-Bird Files: Balaur

#pterosauria #balaur #pterodactyloidea #hatzegopteryx #adzarchidae
Published: 2016-04-07 01:54:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 9204; Favourites: 180; Downloads: 36
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Description Pterosauria>Pterodactyloidea>Azhdarchoidea>Neoazhdarchia>Neopterodactyloidea>Azhdarchidae>Hatzegopteryx>H.thambema
Buffetaut, Grigorescu & Csiki, 2002
Time: Late Maastrichtian (~66 million years ago)
Length: Up to 7.1 meters (23.2ft) from the tip of the beak to the toes.
Wingspan: Up to 10.4 meters (31.4ft), based on estimates by Mark Witton.
Weight: Up to 250kg (0.25 tonnes) or perhaps even 540kg (0.54 tonnes), based on different papers.
Habitat: The Huenduara County of Transylvannia, Romania (formerly the Hateg chain of islands).
Ecology: Large er... aerial? carnivore. Like other azhdarchids, Hatzegopteryx was probably highly terrestrial for a pterosaur, with some even going as far as to suggest is was flightless (though this is very unlikely). With a lack of large theropods, it would have been the apex predator of the Hateg region in the Maastrichtian, where the largest dinosaurs massed less than one tonne.
Diet: You. Run.
Locomotion: Like other azhdarchids, Hatzegopteryx probably spent high amounts of time on land, for a pterosaur (some have even gone as far as to suggest that it was flightless, though this is very unlikely). However, a 2010 study on Quetzalcoatlus northropi concluded that that genus could have flown for over 10.000 miles (16.000 kilometers) without landing, with a maximum speed of 80mph (120 km/h); although Hatzegopteryx was far more robust, the two genera are highly similar in general anatomy and wingspan, and Hatzegopteryx would undoubtedly have been able to fly from island to island with little effort, supporting its large size and role as top predator of the insular ecosystems.
Competition: Juvenile Hatzegopteryx may have competed with or fallen prey to the smaller azhdarchid Eurazhdarcho and the eumaniraptoran Balaur, with adults possibly competing with the indeterminate theropod ''Megalosaurus'' hungaricus.
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Misleading name, eh? But really, the description of Balaur as crested, gigantic and somehow connected to weather fits the giant predatory pterosaur much better than the tiny, double-clawed ''dodo-raptor'' (though neither of them has three to twelve heads... that would be scary as hell). Why they even bothered to give that name to the latter is beyond me. 

Update 07/17/17: 
-Lineart completely remade.
-Replaced human scale figure.
-More accurate size estimate, now along the centra as is the norm, instead of in a straight line.
-Minor text corrections.

Skeletal reconstruction by Mark Witton.
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Comments: 81

randomdinos In reply to ??? [2017-10-15 15:26:26 +0000 UTC]

no it has fibers

but they invisible tho

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Atlantis536 [2017-09-22 22:12:49 +0000 UTC]

That's no Balaur...

This is Balaur!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

PCAwesomeness In reply to Atlantis536 [2017-09-23 21:28:38 +0000 UTC]

He literally says that it's not called Balaur, but "Balaur" a better name for a super-bulky pterosaur with macropredatory tendencies rather than a fat bird with threat levels comparable to those of a butterfly...

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

acepredator In reply to PCAwesomeness [2017-09-24 01:42:00 +0000 UTC]

This

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Dontknowwhattodraw94 [2017-09-10 19:37:22 +0000 UTC]

One thing that bothers me is that these guys were perfectly capable of killing a sheep, a dog, us or a cow perfectly, but their body is so small. Would they even be able to eat an adult human in one meal? 

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

acepredator In reply to Dontknowwhattodraw94 [2017-09-24 01:42:20 +0000 UTC]

According to Mark Witton, yes

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Corallianassa In reply to Dontknowwhattodraw94 [2017-09-12 19:19:25 +0000 UTC]

Looking at Rhamphorhynchus: pterosaurs consumed huge things relative to body volume.
I´d guess that the size of a sheep is maximum for a meal though.

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

Dontknowwhattodraw94 In reply to Corallianassa [2017-09-14 13:42:23 +0000 UTC]

Ah, didn't know that. Would that have an impact on large Azhdarchid their flight abilities? For Hatzeg it makes sense that it could afford to not fly for a certain period of time.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to Dontknowwhattodraw94 [2017-09-14 16:54:52 +0000 UTC]

Surprisingly, not really! Acccording to Mike Habib and Mark Witton they could still fly with a significant extra weight.

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

Dontknowwhattodraw94 In reply to Corallianassa [2017-09-15 19:22:48 +0000 UTC]

Interesting!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Corallianassa [2017-09-10 16:16:34 +0000 UTC]

Some SVP abstracts hint at some rather interesting things about Hatzegopteryx

- It had a similarly sized relative in Dinosaur Park with the same robust built. 
- Bone walls were apparently the thickest of all pterosaurs, equalling non-avian theropods in their thickness.
- The huge heads and necks had suprising effects on flight dynamics: they may have used ''forward swing'' induced by the head to get more forward/backward flapping, reducing in less drag but at the cost of maneuvrability.

👍: 1 ⏩: 2

acepredator In reply to Corallianassa [2017-09-21 14:48:07 +0000 UTC]

Wait. A giant robust azhdarchid on a continent?

Are you sure Hatzegopteryx was limited to Hateg? It probably evolved there but....

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to acepredator [2017-09-21 16:14:25 +0000 UTC]

Yes. 
I don´t know if it was congeneric or conspecific with the Romanian giant, we should wait for the paper.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

randomdinos In reply to Corallianassa [2017-09-10 23:24:54 +0000 UTC]

A similar-sized relative in Dinosaur Park? heck.

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

AlternatePrehistory [2017-07-29 17:07:18 +0000 UTC]

Nice Balaur

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to AlternatePrehistory [2017-08-03 00:03:32 +0000 UTC]

lel

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

JonaGold2000 [2017-07-18 12:11:45 +0000 UTC]

''Balaur''

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to JonaGold2000 [2017-07-18 21:11:11 +0000 UTC]

Bel-air

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Glavenychus In reply to randomdinos [2017-07-24 21:32:06 +0000 UTC]

King of Bel Air

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ForbiddenParadise64 [2017-07-18 09:14:45 +0000 UTC]

Hmm. 250kg seems a bit light given that's how much the less robust Quetzocoatlas is estimated to weigh roughly, but 540kg???? I have difficulty imagining that ever happening XD

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

Corallianassa [2017-07-18 08:26:11 +0000 UTC]

Very nicely done!
Is it covered in naked skin? I don't see a single filament.

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

randomdinos In reply to Corallianassa [2017-07-18 15:54:25 +0000 UTC]

What SpinoInW said is correct, but also because drawing filaments in GIMP lineart is a pain in the ass.

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to randomdinos [2017-07-18 16:59:11 +0000 UTC]

I see. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

SpinoInWonderland In reply to Corallianassa [2017-07-18 11:47:39 +0000 UTC]

Certain large and furred mammals look unfurred from a distance. Think deer, etc. The same is probably in play here.

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to SpinoInWonderland [2017-07-18 16:59:02 +0000 UTC]

Ok.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

acepredator [2017-07-18 03:16:03 +0000 UTC]

The torso is so tiny...

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to acepredator [2017-07-18 04:24:10 +0000 UTC]

Gotta save dat weight

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

RajaHarimau98 [2017-07-18 03:13:53 +0000 UTC]

Balaur does fit much better for Hatzegopteryx.

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

PCAwesomeness [2017-07-17 23:57:28 +0000 UTC]

>when one of the supposedly most terrifying aerial predators has a basketball for a body

Otherwise, nice!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

acepredator In reply to PCAwesomeness [2017-07-21 14:44:54 +0000 UTC]

It's still one of the most terrifying aerial predators.

Mostly because its head is fucking gigantic

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Dinosaurlover83 [2017-07-17 23:24:15 +0000 UTC]

THICC...? Love it.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

105697 [2017-07-17 23:08:29 +0000 UTC]

Bear Catapult!

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

Veterufreak [2017-07-17 23:02:00 +0000 UTC]

That's a nice Balaur

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Megalotitan [2017-07-17 23:00:08 +0000 UTC]

huge boobs it's got there

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to Megalotitan [2017-07-17 23:54:37 +0000 UTC]

 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Megalotitan In reply to randomdinos [2017-07-17 23:56:29 +0000 UTC]

ues

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

TheDubstepAddict [2016-12-11 01:02:17 +0000 UTC]

Just imagine it would hold itself humans to eat like we hold pigs today

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to TheDubstepAddict [2016-12-11 21:21:58 +0000 UTC]

Oh god wtf

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TheDubstepAddict In reply to randomdinos [2016-12-11 22:18:15 +0000 UTC]

Lol

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Apgigan [2016-08-14 00:47:25 +0000 UTC]

These things are terrifying enough but the thought of them galloping around on land and skewering everything they can makes me want to curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to Apgigan [2016-08-14 20:49:54 +0000 UTC]

Azhdarchids are truly terrifying indeed. Especially the flying giraffes

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acepredator [2016-06-25 02:47:10 +0000 UTC]

If Hatz was alive today:

- we would have to keep ponies, donkeys, goats, sheep and young cattle in corrals closed in from all sides, since azhdarchids could land and take off on a dime due to quad-launch.

- we would have to be afraid every time we saw a immense shadow

the worst thing about Hatzegopteryx is that while an average human adult is on the big end of the scale for something like, say, Arambourgiana or Quetzalcoatlus northropii (if Q. northropii doesn't end up being another robust azhdarchid since we only have its wing material), that same human adult would be the ideally sized prey for Hatzegopteryx. Those other pterosaurs, being gigantic stork-like stalkers, could still kill and eat people, but we would be among the largest things they could hunt.

Not with Hatzegopteryx. Being a robustly built, beefy muscular animal, adapted to take on proportionately much larger prey on average than other azhdarchids, a human being would not be a large and risky target, but the perfectly-sized prey. To a 500lb big-game hunting predator a 150lb unarmed human makes a large, yet not too risky meal.

A Q. northropi or Arambourgiana might decide to eat someone, but more likely they would be eating things like cats and small dogs. Not Hatzegopteryx. It would ignore the fpcats and go straight for us because it can deal with us much more easily.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to acepredator [2016-08-30 07:28:35 +0000 UTC]

but, you know humans.
humans often destroy threats, that's why my county has no wolves and bears anymore.
If an animal is dangerous to people, people demonize it and hunt it down till it is extinct

With our protective nature, Hatz would be the one to fear (sadly)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

acepredator In reply to Corallianassa [2016-08-30 13:03:52 +0000 UTC]

True.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Corallianassa In reply to acepredator [2016-08-30 14:23:49 +0000 UTC]

sad reality 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

CJCroen [2016-05-01 21:18:40 +0000 UTC]

Dat diet tho XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

randomdinos In reply to CJCroen [2016-05-01 22:39:54 +0000 UTC]

XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

TyrannosaurusRex-123 [2016-04-21 17:28:36 +0000 UTC]

But isn't Balaur known to be some sort of raptorian?
vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/c…

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randomdinos In reply to TyrannosaurusRex-123 [2016-04-21 18:26:52 +0000 UTC]

See my reply to TheDubstepAddict on another comment:

Balaur bondoc is a theropod, but Balaur (just Balaur, with no italics and no second name)is a Romanian dragon whose description (large serpentine creature with wings, a crest, and somehow connected to weather) sounds much more similar to Hatzegopteryx.

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acepredator [2016-04-13 15:37:39 +0000 UTC]

Fuck. A giant, robust, (relatively) big-game hunting terrestrial pterosaur.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1


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