Paleontologists have discovered a bone fragment from a giant predatory “fear bird” in Miocene sandstones in Colombia’s Tatacoa desert. This is the first such finding for the region, expanding scientists’ understanding of the diversity of predators on the continent. The researchers also estimated the bird’s weight at over 150 kilograms, making the feathered fossil the largest of its family.

Among modern birds, the ostrich is considered the largest; some individuals can grow up to 2.4 meters in length and weigh up to 100 kilograms. Cassowaries, flightless birds of New Guinea and northeastern Australia, have slightly smaller but still significant sizes. The southern subspecies reaches 1.8 meters in height and weighs 80 kilograms. It is worth noting that, unlike ostriches, the legs of cassowaries are armed with three sharp claws. Combined with their fiery nature (they would often attack humans feeding them), it becomes clear where the reputation of the “most dangerous birds” comes from.

But many large birds became extinct. For example, giant trackless moas that were destroyed by Polynesian settlers were hiding. Four-meter birds, whose mass reaches a quarter of a ton, have become excellent prey for hunters.

More deadly, although not very large (moas are herbivorous birds, after all), were the fororacids (Phorusrhacidae). These are extinct birds of prey called terror birds. Their remains have been found in Antarctica, but they generally lived in South America; here the largest representatives probably remained serious land predators throughout most of the Cenozoic period. About 100 thousand years ago, it had not yet become extinct.

The phororacid family was quite diverse and included almost 20 species. The weight of these birds also varies greatly: from five to 100 kilograms or more. Maximum weight is small according to 2003 estimates Paraphysornis brasiliensis : 180 kilograms.

A new discovery made by paleontologists from the United States, Colombia and Argentina — a fragment of bone between the femur and beak of an ancient bird — likely belonged to the largest individual from another subfamily of “terror birds.” Phorus rhacinae. The journal provides a detailed description of the bone and a discussion of the feathered giant’s ecological role. Paleontology Articles.

The left tibiotarsus, or single fragment of the tibiotarsus in birds, was found in the Tatacoa desert, where La Venta (Colombia) is located. This site has been excavated since the 1920s, but this is the first time a representative of the phoracites has been found.

It was found among sandstones that are 13.75±0.9 million years old, that is, from the Middle Miocene. Paleontologists quickly identified a subfamily: they said the bone belonged to it. Phorus rhacinaeA traditionally major taxon among terror birds. Experts estimate the weight of the fossil to be 156 kilograms. thus this individual became the largest of its kind subfamily.

One of the largest known terror birds shared with them tropical forests containing lakes and ponds. Interestingly, paleontologists examined the tooth marks on the bone fragment found. According to the researchers, other features of the fossils perhaps point to a new type of phoracid. However, this is difficult to confirm due to lack of evidence.

“Given the size of crocodiles that lived 12 million years ago, we suspect the ‘terror bird’ may have died from injury in America. Perhaps there are fossils in current collections that are not yet recognized as terror birds because their bones are less diagnostic than the tibiotarsus fragment we found.” Functional Anatomy and Evolution at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.