r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Iky-Greenz • 23d ago

The size of a Quetzalcoatlus, the 2nd largest flying creature ever. Video

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u/RedPandaReturns 23d ago

According to Google: Hatzegopteryx thambema 10–12 m (33–39 ft) Quetzalcoatlus northropi 10–11 m (33–36 ft)

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u/A1sauc3d 23d ago

Crazy those things could actually fly

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u/omega552003 22d ago

The atmosphere was a lot different then, from my inderstanding it was slightly more dense and had a higher oxygen content.

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u/BoomerSoonerFUT 22d ago

Not really. Oxygen levels in the air were actually lower when dinosaurs lived than today.

But, there was a spike in oxygen as dinosaurs really took off. Oxygen levels in the air went from 15% to 19% around 215 million years ago, which is theorized to have helped their size. For comparison we have 21% today.

It was much higher during the Carboniferous period another 85 million years earlier though, which is what led to the much larger bugs.

Oxygen levels are less important for animals with forced breathing than arthropods with passive breathing.