Environment

The terror bird, that's its nickname. 50 million years ago, the phorusrhacid, a 2-meter-high carnivore, was at the top of the food chain. The bird was unable to fly in the air but it had everything it needed to terrorize small mammals living at that time.

Thanks to two paleontologists from Argentina and Uruguay, we now know that the animal lived not only in South America but also in Antarctica, "at a time when it was warmer there" reports the Science Press agency. Two fossilized claws have, in fact, been discovered on Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Characteristics? A huge beak with a hook-shaped tip pointing downwards, an easy way to catch its prey, but also sharp teeth, a massive jaw and long claws. This is a first for the two paleontologists who had never discovered a large carnivore on the island before. This discovery “confirms, however, that barely 10 to 15 million years after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, including the famous tyrannosaurus, the terror bird had already succeeded in occupying the position of a dominant predator,” says Science Presse. And even if the bird weighed at least 100 kilos, its morphology allowed it to run quickly.

In South America, experts believe that the species became extinct only 100,000 years ago.

(MH with AsD - Source: Science Presse - Illustration: Unsplash)