Azhdarchids: The Largest Flying Creatures That Have Ever Existed on Earth

Image: Mark Witton/Darren Naish

What do you get when you combine a bird with a giraffe? The largest flying creatures that have ever existed on Earth:

With wingspans of 40 to 50 ft, the Azhdarchids were pterosaurs as big as some modern aircraft, with incredibly lop-sided bodies. Hugely long legs, beaks and necks adorned unusually small torsos with wings that were, surprisingly, proportionately short. It is thought that they were not able to hunt in flight, but needed to land and scrabble awkwardly for anything that they could swallow whole. Since one of these terrifying monsters stood as much as 20ft tall, it is easy to imagine that man might well have been a prey animal for them, had they lived alongside each other.

Environmental Graffiti has a feature of more less well known, but equally savage prehistoric predators: here.