I'm curious if any type of flying animal that ever existed would have been able to carry your average 150 pound man.
1 Answer
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Assuming that the heaviest pterosaurs (Quetzalcoatlus, Hategopteryx) probably weighed around 200 kilograms... No. This extra load would have required a huge amount of extra muscles and the forces acting on the wing bones (which are the distal phalanges of the 4th finger) would be too high.
The biggest bird was Teratornis incredibilis with an estimated weight of around 25 kilograms... This should answer your question.
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1$\begingroup$ I assume you mean biggest flight capable bird, given modern ostriches typically reach weights of over 150kg (adult males). In any case, the extinct flighted bird Argentavis is estimated to have weighed in excess of 70kg. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 23, 2018 at 11:37
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$\begingroup$ Thanks for adding this! I'm no native speaker... So sorry for my confusing English. You are totally right with Argentavis but even this bird wouldn't carry a human $\endgroup$– JulPalCommented Sep 23, 2018 at 13:29