| Teratornithidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Teratornis merriami skeleton from the La Brea tar pits | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cathartiformes |
| Family: | † Teratornithidae L. H. Miller 1909 |
| Genera | |
† Teratornis Contents | |
Teratornithidae is an extinct family of very large birds of prey that lived in North and South America from the Late Oligocene to Late Pleistocene. They include some of the largest known flying birds.
Teratornithidae are related to New World vultures (Cathartidae, syn. Vulturidae). [1] So far, at least seven species in six genera have been identified:
Despite their size, there is little doubt that even the largest teratorns could fly. Visible marks of the attachments of contour feathers can be seen on Argentavis wing bones. This defies some earlier theories that modern condors, swans, and bustards represent the size limit for flying birds. The wing loading of Argentavis was relatively low for its size, a bit more than a turkey's, [5] and if there were any significant wind present, the bird could probably get airborne merely by spreading its wings, just like modern albatrosses. South America during the Miocene probably featured strong and steady westerly winds, as the Andes were still forming and not yet very high.
T. merriami was small enough (relatively speaking) to take off with a simple jump and a few flaps. The fingerbones are mostly fused as in all birds, but the former index finger has partially evolved into a wide shelf at least in T. merriami, and as condors have a similar adaptation, probably in other species, too. Wing length estimates vary considerably but more likely than not were at the upper end of the range, because this bone structure bears the load of the massive primaries.
Studies on condor flight suggest that even the largest teratorns were capable of flight in normal conditions, as modern large soaring birds rarely flap their wings regardless of terrain. [8]
Traditionally, teratorns have been described as large scavengers, very much like oversized condors, owing to considerable similarity with condors. However, the long beaks and wide gapes of teratorns are more like the beaks of eagles and other actively predatory birds than those of vultures. Most likely teratorns swallowed their prey whole; Argentavis could technically swallow up to hare-sized animals in a single piece. Although they undoubtedly engaged in opportunistic scavenging, they seem to have been active predators most of the time. [5] Teratorns had relatively longer and stouter legs than Old World vultures; thus it seems possible that teratorns would stalk their prey on the ground (much like extant caracaras), and take off only to fly to another feeding ground or their nests; especially Cathartornis seems well-adapted for such a lifestyle. Argentavis may have been an exception, as its sheer bulk would have made it a less effective hunter, but better adapted to taking over other predators' kills. As teratorns were not habitual scavengers, they most likely had completely feathered heads, unlike vultures.
The skull features of teratorns still share a lot of crucial similarities with specialized scavenging raptors. Many old world vultures possess large bills similar to teratorns, and a longer bill is in fact an anatomic feature that points toward a scavenging rather than a predatory life style, as this allow them to probe deeper into large carcases - larger than those fed upon by active-hunting raptors. Other anatomical features, such as the relatively small and sideward facing orbits and the lower skull, are also consistent with a scavenging live style. More sideward facing eyes allow scavenging raptors to have a wider field of vision, which is advantageous in spotting carcases. In contrast, predatory raptors usually have proportionally larger and more forward facing orbits, as depth perception is more important for a predatory lifestyle. [9] [10]
As in other large birds, a clutch probably had only one or two eggs; the young would be cared for more than half a year, and take several years to reach maturity, probably up to 12 years in Argentavis. [11]
Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Māori legend. It was the largest eagle known to have existed, with an estimated weight of 15 kilograms (33 lb), compared to the 9 kg (20 lb) harpy eagle. Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, the flightless moa, the largest of which could weigh 230 kg (510 lb). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, following the arrival of the Māori, who outcompeted it for its moa prey.
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua kuntur. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
The New World vulture or condor family, Cathartidae, contains seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. The "New World" vultures were widespread in both the Old World and North America during the Neogene.
The black vulture, also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Perú, Central Chile and Uruguay in South America. Although a common and widespread species, it has a somewhat more restricted distribution than its compatriot, the turkey vulture, which breeds well into Canada and all the way south to Tierra del Fuego. It is the only extant member of the genus Coragyps, which is in the family Cathartidae. Despite the similar name and appearance, this species is unrelated to the Eurasian black vulture, an Old World vulture, of the family Accipitridae. For ease of locating animal corpses, black vultures tend to inhabit relatively open areas with scattered trees, such as chaparral, in addition to subtropical forested areas and parts of the Brazilian pantanal.
The king vulture is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is the only surviving member of the genus Sarcoramphus, although fossil members are known.
Argentavis is an extinct genus of teratornids known from three sites in the Epecuén and Andalhualá Formations in central and northwestern Argentina dating to the Late Miocene (Huayquerian), where a good sample of fossils has been obtained. The type species, A. magnificens, is sometimes called the giant teratorn. It was among the largest flying birds ever to exist. While it is still considered the heaviest flying bird of all time, Argentavis was likely surpassed in wingspan by Pelagornis sandersi which is estimated to have possessed wings some 20% longer than Argentavis and which was described in 2014.
Aiolornis incredibilis is an extinct species of teratorn bird from the western United States. Only fragmentary remains have been found, which are dated between the Early Pliocene (Zanclean) and Late Pleistocene. First described as Teratornis incredibilis by Howard in 1952 based on a cuneiform bone, the species has been moved to the new genus Aiolornis by Campbell, Scott and Springer in 1999. The generic name is derived from the ancient Greek words aiolus and ornis. Aiolus refers to the Greek god of the wind, and ornis means "bird". The specific name incredibilis means ‘incredible’. A. incredibilis is lesser-known than its close relative, Teratornis merriami, even though A. incredibilis was significantly larger. It presumably became extinct at the same time as the other megafauna in North America.
Titanis is a genus of phorusrhacid, an extinct family of large, predatory birds, in the order Cariamiformes that inhabited the United States during the Pliocene and earliest Pleistocene. The first fossils were unearthed by amateur archaeologist Benjamin Waller from the Santa Fe River in Florida and was named Titanis walleri by ornithologist Pierce Brodkorb in 1963, the species name honoring Waller. The material is fragmentary, consisting of only an incomplete right tarsometatarsus shin bone and phalanx toe bone, but comes from one of the largest phorusrhacid individuals known. In years following the description, many more isolated elements have been unearthed from sites from other areas of Florida, Texas, and California. However, Titanis remains poorly known. Titanis was classified in the subfamily Phorusrhacinae, which includes some of the last and largest phorusrhacids like Devincenzia and Kelenken.
Osteodontornis is an extinct seabird genus. It contains a single named species, Osteodontornis orri, which was described quite exactly one century after the first species of the Pelagornithidae was. O. orri was named after the naturalist Ellison Orr (1857-1951).
Teratornis was a genus of huge North American birds of prey—the best-known of the teratorns—of which, two species are known to have existed: Teratornis merriami and Teratornis woodburnensis. A large number of fossil and subfossil bones, representing more than 100 individuals, have been found in locations in California, Oregon, southern Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, though most are from the Californian La Brea Tar Pits. All remains except one Early Pleistocene partial skeleton from the Leisey Shell Pit near Charlotte Harbor, Florida date from the Late Pleistocene, with the youngest remains dating from the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary.
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the Early Paleocene and the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary.
Pelagornis is a widespread genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds. These were probably rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty.
Cathartornis is an ancient bird of the Teratornithidae family. It lived somewhere between 23 million years and 10,000 years ago. The only evidence of the bird's existence is a few bones. Its remains were documented in 1910. Cathartornis was described on the basis of 2 tarsometatarsi, 1 complete and 1 containing only the distal end, recovered from the Pleistocene La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California. Since then, no other fossils have officially been referred to the taxon, though some fossils assigned to Teratornis could be from Cathartornis and unpublished remains have been mentioned.
Buteogallus daggetti, occasionally called "Daggett's eagle" or the "walking eagle", is an extinct species of long-legged hawk which lived in southwest North America during the Pleistocene. Initially believed to be some sort of carrion-eating eagle, it was for some time placed in the distinct genus Wetmoregyps, named for Alexander Wetmore. It probably resembled a larger version of the modern-day savanna hawk, with its long legs possibly used like the secretarybird of Africa to hunt for small reptiles from a safe distance. It died out about 13,000 years ago.
Oscaravis olsoni, of the teratorn family, was a large, predatory bird that roamed the territory that is now modern-day Cuba before going extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era. Previously classified as Teratornis olsoni, it has recently been granted a new genus due to its ecological isolation from others in the teratorn family, as well as differences in size and possibly behavior. Although no exact measurements can be stated, due to recent archaeological findings and the comparison of O. olsoni bone lengths with that of other teratorns, it has been concluded Oscaravis olsoni would have had a body bigger than Taubatornis campbelli but smaller than Cathartornis gracilis.
A list of prehistoric and extinct species whose fossils have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits, located in present-day Hancock Park, a city park on the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire district in Los Angeles, California.
Oscar Paulino Arredondo de la Mata was a Cuban paleontologist. He described a number of birds and mammals of the Quaternary Period from fossils obtained from Cuban caves. He has been called the "father of Cuban vertebrate paleontology".
Coragyps occidentalis, the Pleistocene black vulture, is an extinct species of New World vulture that lived throughout North and South America during the Pleistocene. It was formerly thought to be the ancestor to the modern black vulture, but is now thought to have evolved from it; the modern black vulture is paraphyletic with respect to it.
Dynatoaetus is an extinct genus of large bird of prey from the Pleistocene of Australia. It is among the largest known raptors of the region, second only to the Haast's eagle of New Zealand. Although most closely related to modern vultures, it shows clear adaptations towards an active predatory lifestyle in the form of robust, powerful talons. The genus is monotypic, meaning it contains only a single species: D. gaffae.
