The remains of two prehistoric creatures, including the most terrifying bird ever known, have been uncovered in the Tatacoa Desert of Colombia.
A research team led by evolutionary biologist Federico Degrange from the Earth Science Research Center (Argentina) has described a new species of bird belonging to the Phorusrhacidae family (terror birds), which roamed the land that is now Colombia 12 million years ago.
Specimen of a Phorusrhacid bird displayed in the USA – (Photo: FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY).
In a publication in the journal Papers in Palaeontology, the researchers noted that the creature was identified from a fossilized leg bone collected in the Tatacoa Desert.
Previously known species of the Phorusrhacidae family typically stood between 1-3 meters tall, but the fossil evidence suggests that this new species was significantly larger, reaching heights of around 4 meters.
As a result, the newly discovered fossilized remains indicate that this creature had a massive and fearsome stature, similar to that of a medium-sized dinosaur.
Additionally, it resembled a dinosaur as it was an extremely terrifying carnivore of the ancient past. Fortunately, this bird species is now extinct.
The flightless Phorusrhacid was an extremely fearsome predator – (Graphic by: Nobu Tamura).
The new bird species is believed to have evolved in this region for a long period during the Miocene epoch of the Quaternary period, which is the geological epoch we currently belong to.
During the Miocene, the desert area was lush and rich in tropical, humid climate and diverse wildlife.
Such conditions often encourage decay, reducing the chances of fossilization. As a result, paleontologists have rarely found fossilized specimens of terror birds or other contemporary creatures in this region.
Descendants of these prehistoric “monster” birds today are small-sized, resembling regular birds.
In addition to the discovery of this fearsome new bird species, scientists also found evidence of how it met its demise.
It was killed by something even more terrifying from the ancient tropics, specifically a 9-meter-long crocodile belonging to the ancient crocodilian lineage Purussaurus.
This discovery once again highlights that ancient South America was home to an astonishing world of monsters.
