Genus
Valid Extinct

Hatzegopteryx

Buffetaut et al. 2002
Etymology Plume de Hatzeg

Hatzegopteryx is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur found in the late Maastrichtian deposits of the Densuș-Ciula Formation, an outcropping in Transylvania, Romania. It is known only from the type species, Hatzegopteryx thambema, named by paleontologists Eric Buffetaut, Dan Grigorescu, and Zoltan Csiki in 2002 based on parts of the skull and humerus. Additional specimens, including a neck vertebra, were later placed in the genus, representing a range of sizes. The largest of these remains indicate it was among the biggest pterosaurs, with an estimated wingspan of 10 to 12 m.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
4
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Hatzegopteryx
click to enlarge
A, left Hatzegopteryx humerus in ventral view; B, distal view. © Mark P. Witton1, Michael B. Habib · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Pterosauria Order
›
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
›
Azhdarchoidea Superfamily
›
Azhdarchidae Family
›
Hatzegopteryx Genus
Measurements
Length
10 m ⓘ
Wingspan
11 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 4 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇷🇴 Romania
4
Geological formations
Densuș-Ciula
2
Sebeş
1
Râul Mare
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
4
Species (1)
Hatzegopteryx thambema 72 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
E. Buffetaut, D. Grigorescu, and Z. Csiki. 2002. A new giant pterosaur with a robust skull from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. Naturwissenschaften 89:180-184
Bibliography (4)
Z. Csiki-Sava, M. Vremir, and S. Vasile, S. L. Brusatte, G. Dyke, D. Naish, M. A. Norell, R. Totoianu. 2016. The East Side Story – The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary events. Cretaceous Research 57:662-698 DOI ↗
S. Brusatte, M. Vremir, and A. Watanabe, Z. Csiki-Sava, D. Naish, G. J. Dyke, G. M. Erickson, M. A. Norell. 2013. An infant ornithopod dinosaur tibia from the Late Cretaceous of Sebes, Romania. Terra Sebus. Acta Musei Sabesiensis 5:627-644
Z. Csiki, D. Grigorescu, and V. Codrea, F. Therrien. 2010. Taphonomic modes in the Maastrichtian continental deposits of the Haţeg Basin, Romania—palaeoecological and palaeobiological inferences. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293(3-4):375-390 DOI ↗
E. Buffetaut, D. Grigorescu, and Z. Csiki. 2002. A new giant pterosaur with a robust skull from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. Naturwissenschaften 89:180-184