Phorusrhacos
Phorusrhacos is a genus of terror bird from the Late Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene in what is now South America.
Description[]
Phorusrhacos had a skull 26 inches (66 cm) long, stood 7 feet 10 inches to 8 feet 10 inches (238 cm to 269 cm) tall, and probably weighed 290 pounds (131 kg). It had very strong legs, capable of running at high speed, stubby, flightless wings, a long neck, and a proportionately large head. This ended in a huge, hooked beak that could tear through flesh easily, or stab into prey. The lower jaw was smaller than the upper jaw. There were three toes on each of the feet, all of which were armed with sharp claws. It lived on pampas in South America
Discovery[]
Phorusrhacos was part of the group called the Phorusrhacidae, which is an extinct group of flightless, cursorial carnivorous birds
Remains are known from several localities in the Santa Cruz Formation and Monte León Formation in the Santa Cruz Province, of Argentina.
Diet[]
It ate small mammals and carrion.
In the Media[]
- Prehistoric Park, "Saving the Sabretooth" where one male is brought back by Nigel Marvin.
- Walking with Beasts, episode 5 "Sabre Tooth"
- It (or Gastornis) Appeared in the 1918 movie The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
- Phorusrhacos’ first verified appearance was in the 1961 movie Mysterious Island
- Life on Our Planet.
