Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Phorusrhacidae

These were a family of large carnivorous flightless birds that lived in South America from about 62-2 million years ago. They were 1-3 m tall. The modern species  most closely related to them is the seriemas. A large species, Titanis walleri has been found as far north as Texas and Florida, and is the only large predator to have crossed to North America when the land bridge formed between North and South America. The wing bones articulated in a unique joint-like structure, suggesting the digits could flex to some degree, and it has been suggested that they could have supported some type of clawed "finger", though there is no direct evidence of this. Could it have been evolving to have grasping hands on arms like its dinosaurian ancestors?

A species recently discovered in Patagonia, Kelenken guillermoi, dates fro the Middle Miocene, about 15 million years ago. The specimen has a skull 74 cm (28 inches) long. The beak is 460 mm (18 inches) long and shaped like that of an eagle. It has been estimated that it was about 3 m (10 ft) tall.

Sources & Further reading

1. Peter F. Murray & Patricia Vickers-Rich, Magnificent Mihirungs: The Colossal Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime, Indiana University Press, 2004

Links

• Wikipedia
• Phorusrhacidae
• Terror Birds with a kung fu Kick?