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Teratorns were very large birds of prey who lived in North and South America from Miocene to Pleistocene. They were close relatives of modern condors and as such, they are more closely related to storks rather than Accipitridae which includes most other diurnal predatory birds; however, Rhys (1980) put the family Teratornithidae in the order Accipitriformes. They include some of the largest known flying birds. So far, four species have been identified:
- Teratornis merriami (Miller, 1909). This is by far the best-known species. Over a hundred specimens have been found, mostly from La Brea Tar Pits. It stood about 75 cm tall with estimated wingspan of perhaps 3.5 to 3.8 metres, and weighted about 15 kg; making it slightly bigger than extant condors. It became extinct at the end of Pleistocene, some 10 000 years ago. Teratornis is Greek for "monster bird".
- Aiornis incredibilis (Howard, 1952), previously known as Teratornis incredibilis. This species is fairly poorly known, finds from Nevada and California include several wing bones and part of the beak. They show remarkable similarity with merriami but are uniformly about 40% larger: this would translate to wingspan of about 5 metres for incredibilis. The finds are dated from Pliocene to late Pleistocene which is fairly signifant chronological spread, and it is uncertain whether they actually represent same species.
- Cathartornis gracilis (Miller, 1910). This species is known only from a couple of leg bones found from La Brea Ranch. Compared to T. merriami, remains are slightly shorter and clearly more slender, indicating more gracile body build.
- Argentavis magnificens (Campbell & Tonni, 1980). A partial skeleton of this enormous teratorn was found from La Pampa, Argentina. It is the oldest known teratorn, dating to late Miocene, about 6 to 8 million years ago, and one of the very few teratorn finds in South America. Initial discovery included portions of the skull, incomplete humerus and several other wing bones. Even conservative estimates put its wingspan between 6 and 7 metres, and it may have been as much as 8 metres. Weight of the bird was estimated to have been around 80 kg. Estimated weight and wing area rival those of the largest Pterosaurs.
Another form, "Teratornis" olsoni, was described from the Pleistocene of Cuba, but its exact affinities are not completely resolved; It might not be a teratorn at all.
Behaviour
Despite their size, there is little doubt that even the largest teratorns could fly. Visible marks of the attachments of contour feathers can be seen on Argentavis wing bones. This defies some earlier theories that modern birds like Condors and Swans and Bustards represent the ultimate size limit for flying birds. Wing loading of Argentavis was relatively low, and if there were any significant wind present, the bird could probably get airborne merely by spreading its wings, just like modern Albatrosses. It is noteworthy that South America during Miocene probably featured strong and steady westerly winds, as the Andes were still forming and not yet very high.
Traditionally, teratorns have been described as large scavengers, very much like oversized condors, owing to considerable similarity with condors. However, long beaks of teratorns are more like the beaks of eagles and other active predatory birds, rather than vultures. Most likely teratorns swallowed their prey whole: Argentavis could have swallowed up to hare-sized animals. Although they undoubtely engaged in opportunistic scavenging, they seem to have been active predators most of the time. It is noteworthy that teratorns have relatively longer legs than modern birds of prey. It seems possible that they would stalk their prey on the ground, and take off only to fly to another feeding ground, or their nests. As they were not habitual scavengers, they most likely had completely feathered heads, unlike vultures.
References
- Miller, Love H. (1909): Teratornis, a new avian genus from Rancho La Brea. Univ. California Publ., Bull. Dept. Geol. 5: 305-317.
- Rhys, David (1980): Argentavis magnificens: World's Largest Flying Bird. Origins 7(2): 87-88. HTML abstract
- Campbell, Kenneth E. & Tonni, E. P. (1983): Size and locomotion in teratorns. Auk 100: 390-403 PDF fulltext
"Teratornithidae"