Palaeontology

First known fossilized 'terror bird' footprints found in Argentina

By T.K. Randall
October 13, 2023

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Standing up to 3 meters in height and sporting razor-sharp claws as well as a beak capable of piercing a human's skull, terror birds were a group of enormous predatory flightless birds which roamed the Earth from 53 million years ago to as recently as 100,000 years ago.

Dwarfing even today's ostriches, these ferocious creatures would have been a force to be reckoned with.

Now, in a world-first, paleontologists have discovered what are believed to be the first ever fossilized terror bird footprints at a site in Argentina.Dating back approximately 8 million years, the prints are surprisingly well-preserved and are thought to have been left by a member of the Mesembriornithinae subspecies.

Footprints might not seem like much to go on, but quite a lot can be ascertained from them.

In this case, the researchers believe that this particular terror bird had been running across a mudflat at around 2.74 meters per second and weighed approximately 55kg.

First known and well-preserved terror bird footprints found in Argentina https://t.co/qQHwzjQMUS

— Dr Sally C. Reynolds #FossilStoriesWhiteSandsNP (@SallyR_ISLHE) October 13, 2023

Source: Phys.org

Tags: Terror Bird