Largest ever flying creatures had longer necks than giraffes

Azhdarchid pterosaurs, the giant reptiles that flew in the skies nearly 65 million years ago, had necks longer than that of a giraffe (on average a giraffe’s neck is about 6 feet long).

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Now, researchers have reported a new finding about their long necks — that the thin neck vertebrae were supported by an intricate internal structure that is unlike anything seen before.

Pterosaurs are reptiles that are close cousins of dinosaurs, the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight.

Pterosaurs went extinct about 65-66 million years ago (end of the Cretaceous period).

Azhdarchid pterosaurs are one type of pterosaur and one of the distinguishing characteristics about them is how big they were, especially their long necks.