Skull morphology of giant terror birds

CHIAPPE, L.M.; BERTELLI, S.

NATURE

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: London; Año: 2006 vol. 443 p. 929 - 929

0028-0836

The phorusrhacids (‘terror birds’) are an extinct lineage that includes the largest birds known. Reconstructions of these Cenozoic carnivores have consistently highlighted a very high beak, round orbits and vaulted braincase, although minimal information is actually available for the skull of the largest species.An important new fossil of a gigantic avian skull has been discovered from the middle Miocene of Patagonia (Comallo, Argentina), which reveals significant differences between the skulls of large and small phorusrhacids. We conclude that reconstructions of the skull of gigantic phorusrhacids on the basis of their smaller relatives are unwarranted, and that the long-established correlation between their corpulence and reduced cursorial agility needs to be re-evaluated.