Phorusrhacidae
Extinct family of flightless birds / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Phorusrhacids, colloquially known as terror birds, are an extinct family of large carnivorous, mostly flightless birds[lower-alpha 1] that were among the largest apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era; their conventionally accepted temporal range covers from 53 to 0.1 million years (Ma) ago,[1] and perhaps even up to 21,600 ± 1,000 years ago.[5]
Phorusrhacidae | |
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Reconstructed skeleton of Titanis walleri, Florida Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Cariamiformes |
Superfamily: | †Phorusrhacoidea Ameghino, 1889 |
Family: | †Phorusrhacidae Ameghino, 1889[2] |
Type species | |
†Phorusrhacos longissimus Ameghino, 1887 | |
Subfamilies | |
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Synonyms | |
Family synonymy
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They ranged in height from 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft). One of the largest specimens from the Early Pleistocene of Uruguay, possibly belonging to Devincenzia, would have weighed up to 350 kilograms (770 lb).[6][7] Their closest modern-day relatives are believed to be the 80-centimetre-tall (31 in) seriemas. Titanis walleri, one of the larger species, is known from Texas and Florida in North America. This makes the phorusrhacids the only known large South American predator to migrate north in the Great American Interchange that followed the formation of the Isthmus of Panama land bridge (the main pulse of the interchange began about 2.6 Ma ago; Titanis at 5 Ma was an early northward migrant).[8]
It was once believed that T. walleri became extinct in North America around the time of the arrival of humans,[9] but subsequent datings of Titanis fossils provided no evidence for their survival after 1.8 Ma.[10] However, reports from Uruguay of new findings of phorusrachids such as a specimen of Psilopterus dating to 96,040 ± 6,300 years ago would imply that phorusrhacids survived in South America until the late Pleistocene.[lower-alpha 2]
Phorusrhacids may have even made their way into Africa; the genus Lavocatavis was discovered in Algeria, but its status as a true phorusrhacid is questioned.[11] The possible European form (Eleutherornis) and possible Antarctic specimens have also been identified, suggesting that this group had a wider geographical range in the Paleogene.[12][13][14]
The closely related bathornithids occupied a similar ecological niche in North America across the Eocene to Early Miocene; some, like Paracrax, were similar in size to the largest phorusrhacids.[15][16] At least one analysis recovers Bathornis as sister taxa to phorusrhacids, on the basis of shared features in the jaws and coracoid,[17] though this has been seriously contested, as these might have evolved independently for the same carnivorous, flightless lifestyle.[18]