4m tall bird species discovered in South America

(NLDO) - The remains of two prehistoric monsters, including the most terrifying bird ever known, have been discovered in Colombia's Tatacoa desert.

A research team led by evolutionary biologist Federico Degrange from the Center for Earth Sciences Research (Argentina) has described a new species of bird belonging to the Phorusrhacid family (terror birds), which roamed the land that is now Colombia 12 million years ago.

Specimen of a Phorusrhacid bird of the same family on display in the US - Photo: FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Writing in the scientific journal Papers in Palaeontology, the researchers said the creature was described from a partial shin bone collected in the middle of the Tatacoa Desert.

Previously known species of Phorusrhacids ranged in height from 1-3 m, but the fossil bones suggest that this new species was 30% larger, meaning it must have been around 4 m or more.

So the creature whose bones were recently discovered must have been as large and fearsome as a medium-sized dinosaur.

Besides, it also resembles dinosaurs because it was an extremely scary carnivore in ancient times. Fortunately, this bird is extinct today.

The Phorusrhacid bird monster cannot fly but is an extremely fearsome predator - Graphic photo: Nobu Tamura

This new bird species is thought to have evolved in this area long ago during the Miocene of the Quaternary period, the geological period we now belong to.

During the Miocene, the desert region was still very lush with a humid tropical climate and rich fauna.

Such conditions often promote decomposition, reducing the likelihood of fossilization. As a result, paleontologists have found very few specimens of terror birds and other contemporaneous creatures in this area.

The descendants of these prehistoric "monster" birds today are as small as normal birds.

Along with the discovery of the terrifying new bird, scientists also found evidence of how it died.

It was bitten to death by something even more terrifying in the ancient tropics, namely a 9-meter-long crocodile, belonging to the ancient crocodile family Purussaurus.

This discovery once again shows that ancient South America once possessed a world of amazing monsters.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/loai-chim-cao-4-m-lo-dien-o-nam-my-196241105100738056.htm