![]() ![]() However, just because Confuciusornis looked like a modern bird doesn't mean it's the great-great-grandfather (or grandmother) of every pigeon, eagle and owl living today. (This arboreal habit didn't spare it from predation, however recently, paleontologists unearthed the fossil of a much bigger dino-bird, Sinocalliopteryx, harboring the remains of three Confuciusornis specimens in its gut!) Unlike other flying creatures of its era, Confuciusornis had no teeth-which, along with its feathers and curved claws suited for sitting high up in trees, makes it one of the most unmistakably birdlike creatures of the Cretaceous period. One of a series of spectacular Chinese fossil discoveries made over the past 20 or so years, Confuciusornis was a true find: the first identified prehistoric bird with a true beak (a subsequent discovery, of the earlier, similar Eoconfuciusornis, was made a few years later). Distinguishing Characteristics: Beak, primitive feathers, curved foot claws.Size and Weight: About one foot long and less than a pound.Historical Period: Early Cretaceous (130-120 million years ago).Name: Confuciusornis (Greek for "Confucius bird") pronounced con-FEW-shus-OR-nis.What Andalgalornis (and other terror birds) specifically did not do was grasp prey in its jaws and shake it back and forth, which would have placed undue strain on its skeletal structure. It seems that Andalgalornis wielded its large, heavy, pointed beak like a hatchet, repeatedly closing in on prey, inflicting deep wounds with quick stabbing motions, then withdrawing to a safe distance as its unfortunate victim bled to death. However, you can expect to hear more about this once-obscure predator, because a recent study about the hunting habits of terror birds employed Andalgalornis as its poster genus. ![]() Distinguishing Characteristics: Long legs massive head with sharp beakĪs "terror birds"-the oversized, flightless apex predators of Miocene and Pliocene South America-go, Andalgalornis isn't quite as well known as Phorusrhacos or Kelenken.Size and Weight: About 4-5 feet tall and 100 pounds.Historical Epoch: Miocene (23-5 million years ago).Name: Andalgalornis (Greek for "Andalgala bird") pronounced AND-al-gah-LORE-niss. ![]()
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