Thanatosdrakon

Thanatosdrakon is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Coniacian and Santonian ages of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina, around 89.6 and 86.3 million years ago. Its remains were found in the Plottier Formation of the Neuquén Basin in the Mendoza Province. The genus only consists of the type species, Thanatosdrakon amaru, named and described by paleontologists Leonardo Ortiz David, Bernardo González Riga, and Alexander Kellner. Its generic name means "dragon of death" in Greek, while its specific name is a Quechuan word meaning "flying serpent" and refers to the Incan deity Amaru. Thanatosdrakon is known from two specimens, the holotype, consisting of a partial postcranial skeleton, and the paratype, consisting of a left humerus. The holotype includes material that is previously undescribed in giant azhdarchid pterosaurs.

Thanatosdrakon was a giant pterosaur. The holotype specimen is estimated to have had a wingspan of around 7 m (23 ft), while the paratype has been given an even larger wingspan estimate at around 9 m (30 ft), making Thanatosdrakon the largest known pterosaur from South America. In its description, Thanatosdrakon was assigned to the subfamily Quetzalcoatlinae within the family Azhdarchidae, closely related to both Quetzalcoatlus and Cryodrakon. Thanatosdrakon coexisted with a wide range of dinosaur and non-dinosaur taxa, as demonstrated by the diverse and abundant fossil remains found in the Plottier Formation.