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Phorusrhacids ("Rag-Bearers"), or terror birds, were a family of large carnivorous flightless birds that were the dominant predators in South America during the Cenozoic, 62–2 million years (Ma) ago. They were roughly 1–3 meters (3–10 feet) tall. Their closest modern-day relatives are believed to be the 0.8 m-tall seriemas. Titanis walleri, one of the larger species, is known from Texas and Florida in North America. This makes the phorusrhacids only known example of large South American predators migrating north during the Great American Interchange (which occurred after the volcanic Isthmus of Panama land bridge rose ca. 3 Ma ago). It was once believed that T. walleri only became extinct around the time of the arrival of man in North America^[1], but subsequent datings of Titanis fossils have failed to provide evidence for their survival more recently than 1.8 Ma ago.^[2][3] Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... Image File history File links Phororhacos. ... Phorusrhacos was a genus of giant flightless predatory birds that lived in Brazil and Patagonia, containing a single species accepted to date: Phorusrhacos longissimus. ... Allosaurus by Charles R. Knight. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Phyla Subkingdom Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subkingdom Agnotozoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Subkingdom Metazoa Radiata Cnidaria Ctenophora - Comb jellies Bilateria Protostomia Acoelomorpha Platyhelminthes - Flatworms Nemertina - Ribbon worms Gastrotricha Gnathostomulida - Jawed worms Micrognathozoa Rotifera - Rotifers Acanthocephala Priapulida Kinorhyncha Loricifera Entoprocta Nematoda - Roundworms Nematomorpha - Horsehair worms Cycliophora Mollusca - Mollusks Sipuncula - Peanut worms Annelida - Segmented... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families †Gastornithidae Aramidae Psophiidae Rallidae Heliornithidae Rhynochetidae †Aptornithidae Eurypigidae Cariamidae Otidae Gruidae †Phorusrhacidae The diverse order Gruiformes contains about 12 bird families with, on first sight, little in common. ... Florentino Ameghino (September 18, 1854 – August 6, 1911) was an Argentinian naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Bust of Francisco Moreno, in front of the Los Glaciares National Park offices in El Calafate. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Bust of Francisco Moreno, in front of the Los Glaciares National Park offices in El Calafate. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Richard Lydekker (1849 - April 16, 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 _ December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... This article deals with meat-eating animals. ... Flightless birds evolved from flying ancestors; there are about forty species in existence today. ... This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Mammals are the dominant creatures of Cenozoic. ... Annum is a Latin noun meaning year. ... Genera and species Cariama cristata Chunga burmeisteri The Seriemas are a small and ancient family of tropical South American birds, belonging to the family Cariamidae, that are related to the rails and bustards. ... Binomial name Titanis walleri Brodkorb, 1963 Titanis walleri is the name given to a species of very large predatory flightless birds. ... North American redirects here. ... The Great American Interchange was a very important paleozoogeographic event in which land and freshwater animal faunas migrated from Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the continents. ... The Isthmus of Panama. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

A new specimen discovered in Patagonia in 2006 represents the largest bird skull yet found. The fossil has not been formally described but may belong to a new genus or species.^[4] Patagonia, as most commonly defined (in orange). ... For other uses of Skull, see Skull (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ...

Phorusrhacids are colloquially known as "terror birds", because their larger species were apex predators and the most fearsome carnivores of their habitat (before the arrival of saber-toothed cats 2.5 Ma ago). Their wings had evolved into meathook-like structures that likely could be stretched out like arms to perform a hacking motion which theoretically would help in bringing down prey. Most of the smaller and some of the larger species are believed to have been fast runners. This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... This article deals with meat-eating animals. ... Species Smilodon californicus Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon floridus Smilodon neogaeus Smilodon SMILE-o-don (a bahuvrihi from Greek: σμιλη knife and (Ionic) οδων tooth) is an extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that are understood to have lived between approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago...

Systematics and taxonomy

Following the revision by Alvarenga and Höfling (2003), there are now 5 subfamilies, containing 13 genera and 17 species: ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ...

• Subfamily Brontornithinae — gigantic species, standing over 2 meters high
  • Genus Brontornis (Early - Middle Miocene)
    • Brontornis burmeisteri
  • Genus Physornis (Middle - Late Oligocene of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina)
    • Physornis fortis
  • Genus Paraphysornis (Tremembé Late Oligocene/Early Miocene of São Paulo State, Brazil)
    • Paraphysornis brasiliensis
• Subfamily Phorusrhacinae — gigantic species, but somewhat smaller and decidedly more nimble than the Brontornithinae
  • Genus Phorusrhacos (Early Miocene- Mid Pleistocene)
    • Phorusrhacos longissimus
  • Genus Devincenzia (Late Miocene - Early Pliocene of NE Argentina and Arroyo Roman, Uruguay)
    • Devincenzia pozzi
  • Genus Titanis (Early - Late Pliocene)
    • Titanis walleri
• Subfamily Patagornithinae — medium-sized and very nimble species, standing around 1.5 m high
  • Genus Patagornis (Santa Cruz Early - Middle Miocene of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina) - includes Morenomerceraria^{[verification needed]}, Palaeociconia, Tolmodus
    • Patagornis marshi
  • Genus Andrewsornis (Middle - Late Oligocene of S Argentina)
    • Andrewsornis abbotti
  • Genus Andalgalornis (Late Miocene - Early Pliocene)
    • Andalgalornis steulleti
• Subfamily Psilopterinae — small species, standing 70–100 cm high
  • Genus Psilopterus (Deseado Middle Oligocene - Arroyo Chasicó Late Miocene of S and E Argentina)
    • Psilopterus bachmanni
    • Psilopterus lemoinei
    • Psilopterus affinis
    • Psilopterus colzecus
  • Genus Procariama (Late Miocene - Early Pliocene of Catamarca Province, Argentina)
    • Procariama simplex
  • Genus Paleopsilopterus (Middle Paleocene of Itaboraí, Brazil)
    • Paleopsilopterus itaboraiensis
• Subfamily Mesembriornithinae — medium-sized species, standing between 1 and 1.5 m high
  • Genus Mesembriornis (Late Miocene - Late Pliocene)
    • Mesembriornis milneedwardsi
    • Mesembriornis incertus

Alvarenga and Höfling do not include the Sophiornithidae from Europe in the phorusrhacoids; these have meanwhile turned out to be primitive relatives of owls (Mayr 2005). Binomial name Brontornis burmeisteri Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 Synonyms see text Brontornis was a genus of giant flightless predatory birds that lived in Patagonia. ... Binomial name Phorusrhacos longissimus Ameghino, 1887 Synonyms see text Phorusrhacos (pronounced FOR-rus-RAH-kos) was a genus of giant flightless predatory birds that lived in Patagonia, containing the single species P. longissimus. ... Binomial name Titanis walleri Brodkorb, 1963 Titanis walleri is the name given to a species of very large predatory flightless birds. ... Genera Sophiornis Strigogyps The sophiornithids (literally Wisdom Birds), Sophiornithidae, were a family of predatory birds that lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene periods of the Cenozoic. ... For other uses, see Owl (disambiguation). ...

Popular Culture

• The terror birds are featured in the 2008 film, 10,000 BC, when they attack the lead characters during a journey through the forest.

• In the massively multiplayer online game Runescape, terror birds are depicted as a cavalry mount used by gnomes.

• A terror bird is featured in Robert E. Howard's short story "The Gods of Bal-Sagoth".

• Nigel Marven brought a Terror Bird back from the Ice Age and placed it in exhibit in Prehistoric Park

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... 10,000 BC is a 2008 American film set in the prehistoric era directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. ... RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. ... Not to be confused with Golgotha, which was called Calvary. ... This article is about the mythical creatures. ... Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936)[1] was a classic American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. ... Nigel Marven (born 1960) is a British wildlife presenter, television producer, author, and hobby ornithologist. ... Prehistoric Park is a six part television series in documentary style, from Impossible Pictures Limited, (the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs) which premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. ...

References

1. ^ Baskin, J. A. (1995). "The giant flightless bird Titanis walleri (Aves: Phorusrhacidae) from the Pleistocene coastal plain of South Texas." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 15(4): 842-844.
2. ^ McFadden, B., Labs-Hochstein, J., Hulbert, R.C. Jr., and Baskin, J.A. (2006). "Refined age of the late Neogene terror bird (Titanis) from Florida and Texas using rare earth elements." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 26(3): 92A (Supplement). PDF abstract
3. ^ * McFadden, B., Labs-Hochstein, J., Hulbert, R.C. Jr., and Baskin, J.A. (2007). "Revised age of the late Neogene terror bird (Titanis) in North America during the Great American Interchange." Geology, 35(2): 123-126. doi:10.1130/G23186A.1 PDF fulltext
4. ^ Highfield, Richard, "Hang on to your dog: meet the vicious 10ft terror bird" [1]

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. ... Geology is a publication of the Geological Society of America. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

Further reading

• Alvarenga, Herculano MF; Höfling, Elizabeth (2003). "Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 (4): 55-91. 
• Ameghino, F (1889). "Contribuición al conocimiento de los mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina" (in Spanish). Actas Academia Nacional Ciencias de Córdoba 6: 1-1028. 
• Bertelli, Sara; Chiappe, Luis M; Tambussi, Claudia (2007). "A New Phorusrhacid (Aves: Cariamae) from the Middle Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (2): 409-419. doi:[409:ANPACF2.0.CO;2 10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[409:ANPACF]2.0.CO;2]. 
• Chiappe, Luis M; Bertelli, Sara (2006). "Skull morphology of giant terror birds". Nature 443: 929. doi:10.1038/443929a. 
• Mayr, Gerald. "Old World phorusrhacids (Aves, Phorusrhacidae): a new look at Strigogyps ("Aenigmavis") sapea (Peters 1987)". PaleoBios 25 (1): 11-16. 

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

External links

• Hooper Museum
• Terror Birds: Bigger and Faster (Science)
• Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology: "terror birds"