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But there is one species that dwarfs them all. He is Ornithocheirus. Twelve meters from wing tip to wing tip, with a body bigger than a man's. He's the undisputed king of the skies!

Walking with Dinosaurs: Giant of the Skies

       

Ornithocheirus was a huge pterosaur from the early Cretaceous (135-100 MYA) South American deposits.

Facts[]

Ornithocheirus was featured in the 4th episode of Walking with Dinosaurs, where the program followed an aging male during his last mating flight. In that episode, this pterosaur (and some others) were shown holding group leks, just like some modern birds, and possessing similarly bird-like sexual dimorphism: in particular, males had a crest at the tip of the snout which was used for display during mating and - to a lesser extent - for competition between males. Outside of mating, Ornithocheirus was apparently a lone pterosaur, the members of that species avoiding each other, preferring the company of other, smaller pterosaurs, whom they would probably occasionally harass to steal their catch.

Ornithocheirus also had a cameo appearance in the second episode of Chased by Dinosaurs, "Land of Giants". In that episode Nigel Marven identified this flying reptile as the biggest pterosaur ever, but that is incorrect, Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx, and Arambourginia were bigger. Several large bone fragments from the Santana Formation of Brazil indicate that Ornithocheirus may have been one of the largest pterosaurs that ever lived, with a wingspan around 6–8 meters (20–27 ft) from wingtip to wingtip. With a body bigger than a human's, it was the undisputed 'King of the Skies'.

Sexual dimorphism[]

Only the males had the crests on their beak, and males are a tiny bit bigger than the females.

Portrayal in the series[]

An old male was shown as the main character in Giant of the Skies episode.

Appearances[]

Merchandise[]

WWD Ornitho Side

The rare Ornithocheirus toy

A toy of Ornithocheirus was made by Toyway for their Walking with Dinosaurs line. It is the rarest of the line as it was never commercially released, and could only be obtained in a giveaway, which makes it valuable to collectors.

Errors[]

  • Ornithocheirus was stated to have a wingspan of up to 40 feet (12.2 meters) in the series. However, this size is greatly exaggerated, and in real life, it had a much smaller wingspan at an estimated 16 feet (5 meters).
  • Ornithocheirus is only known definitively from fossil remains found in what is now the United Kingdom.
    • The Ornithocheirus featured in Walking with Dinosaurs was based on fossil material found in South America, which would later be assigned to the genus Tropeognathus.
      • While Tropeognathus was neither one of the largest pterosaurs nor had a 40-foot wingspan, its impressive wingspan of around 27 feet (8.2 meters) wide still makes it the largest toothed pterosaur to ever exist.

Trivia[]

  • Ornithocheirus was once thought to have more than 30 species!
  • Unlike Liopleurodon, the other oversized fish-eating predator, which has become a stock prehistoric animal and is frequently referenced, Ornithocheirus is still rarely featured in popular culture and is generally only appreciated by paleontology aficionados - perhaps because it might be Tropeognathus, or perhaps because Liopleurodon is much more physically intimidating and impressive.

Gallery[]

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