What is a teratorn?
Q: What is a teratorn?
A: A teratorn is a group of large birds of prey that lived in the Americas from the Oligocene to Pleistocene epochs. They are now all extinct.
Q: How many species have been identified so far?
A: So far, at least five species in four genera have been identified.
Q: What is Teratornis merriami?
A: Teratornis merriami is by far the best-known species of teratorns. 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 weighed about 15 kg, making it about a third bigger than living condors.
Q: When did Teratornis merriami become extinct?
A: Teratornis merriami became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, some 10,000 years ago.
Q: What is Argentavis magnificens?
A: Argentavis magnificens was an enormous teratorn that was found from La Pampa, Argentina and is believed to be the largest flying bird ever known to exist. It dates back to late Miocene, about 6 to 8 million years ago and one of the very few teratorn finds in South America. Its wingspan was estimated to be around 6 meters or more and its weight was estimated at 80 kg (176 lb).
Q: When did this group of huge birds live?
A: This group of huge birds lived at a time before mankind reached the Americas in any numbers - likely during late Miocene or early Pliocene period (6-8 million years ago).
Q: What type of environment existed when these birds were alive?
A: The land was more heavily forested than today with herbivores more suited for forests than today's environment - as suggested by finds in California which suggest similar conditions existed much of California and North America west of mountains during that time period.
