Terror bird may have been killed by even bigger creature 13 million years ago, bite marks suggest
Share this @internewscast.com

Standing around 10 feet tall, weighing roughly 220 pounds, and boasting an axe-like beak capable of delivering devastating blows, the terror bird would have been a formidable adversary for most creatures.

However, about 13 million years ago, one of these birds might have become the victim of an even larger predator. A team of paleontologists in Colombia uncovered this possibility after examining bite marks on a fossilized bone of one of these fearsome birds.

Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal “Biology Letters,” suggest that the terror bird was either killed and eaten or consumed after death by scavenging, by a medium-sized caiman, a crocodile-like reptile.

“This is a fascinating story of the interaction of two very iconic animals in the past,” Andrés Link, the study’s lead author, told NBC News in an email Wednesday. “We actually found not only the first record of a terror bird in northern south America, but the tooth marks of a large caiman that has probably fed on it,” he added.

Terror bird fossils, which are rare, have mostly been identified in the southern part of the continent.

While tooth marks are “not uncommon” in the fossil record, it’s “exciting” to find evidence that indicates an apex predator being hunted or scavenged by another, said Link, an associate professor of biological sciences at the Los Andes University in Colombia.

Writing in “Biology Letters,” the team said the teeth marks showed no signs of healing, suggesting that the attack was fatal.

Based on the finding, they added that terror birds might have faced higher risk of being killed and eaten than previously expected.

Julian Bayona Becerra / Biology Letters

To identify the attacker, Link and his team scanned the fossil and analyzed the size, shape and spacing of the tooth marks. After comparing those marks with teeth of crocodyliforms from the region, they concluded that the trace maker was likely a juvenile caiman about 15 feet long.

It remains “very difficult” to know if the caiman ate the terror bird after killing it or whether it scavenged the carcass, Link said. If the bird was alive, it was likely attacked while drinking at a river, researchers wrote, and conversely, if it was dead, the caiman found and fed on its body near water.

“This story will not be told completely as we have no further evidence to choose between these two hypotheses.” Link said.

The discovery challenges the assumption of “a linear relation between predators feeding on herbivores feeding in plants,” he added. “The food web is really much more complex.”

The lower part of the bird’s left leg bone used in the study was unearthed in the renowned La Venta fossil beds of Colombia two decades ago by Cesar Perdomo, a local paleontologist.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Tom Lehrer, Renowned Song Satirist and Mathematician, Passes Away at 97

LOS ANGELES – Tom Lehrer, a well-known and intellectual song satirist who…

Press Conference Highlights — July 27, 2025

KRISTEN WELKER: This Sunday: Mounting pressure. REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES: What are they…

Sunday Morning Incident: Springfield Cafe Shuts Down After Car Crashes Into Building

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A vehicle drove through a cafe in Springfield…

Several Injured in Stabbing Incident at Michigan Walmart, Police Report

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site…

Alec Baldwin Discusses ‘Peanuts’ and Impact of ‘Rust’ Trial: ‘Aiming to Move On’

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Alec Baldwin mentions that since the surprising conclusion…

Couple Tragically Killed While Hiking with Daughters in Arkansas Park, Authorities Report

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site…

Who Will and Won’t Experience a Three-Paycheck August

(NEXSTAR) — On paper, August is another long month, offering more opportunities…

Arizona TikTok Influencer Detained Following Prank Videos at Local Stores Going Viral

() Police in Tempe, Arizona, arrested a social media influencer allegedly involved…

Ex-Georgia Deputy Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assaulting Black Inmate

A former deputy sheriff from Georgia has been sentenced to 16 months…

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics Makes History as First MLB Rookie to Hit 4 Home Runs in One Game, Ties Total Base Record

HOUSTON (AP) — With his parents and godparents watching, Nick Kurtz already…

Border Patrol Implements Sound Systems to Deter Migrants

() Under President Trump’s administration, military troops aren’t just watching the border.…

Israel Blocks Another Ship Heading to Gaza with Activists and Aid

TEL AVIV – The Israeli defense forces have stopped an aid ship…