Primoptynx poliotaurus is an extinct species of owl that lived in Wyoming during the Eocene epoch around 55 million years ago.
Description[]
The fossil owl was about the size of a modern snowy owl; however, it is clearly distinguished from all extant species by the different size of its talons. While in present-day owls the talons on all toes are approximately the same size, Primoptynx poliotauros has noticeably enlarged talons on its hind toe and second toe.
The main theory hypothesizes that the Primoptynx used its feet to dispatch prey items in a hawk-like manner, whereas living owls kill prey with their beak. Owls today have four toes with claws of equal size to catch relatively small preys and kill them with the beak; however the Primoptynx has a longer first and second toe, as seen in hawks and other members of the family Accipitridae. Those more developed toes are used to pin down prey, which are punctured by the talons. So it was an owl that hunted like a hawk on medium-sized mammals. The lifestyle of this extinct owl clearly differed from that of its modern relatives. [1]
