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

Tragic Shooting in Slavic Village Leaves 2 Dead, 2 Injured

[Watch Cleveland’s homicide statistics in the video above.] CLEVELAND (WJW) — Authorities…

Illinois Youth Hunters Achieve Record-Breaking Deer Harvest During Three-Day Season

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Recent figures released by the Illinois Department of Natural…

Massive ‘No Kings’ Protests Sweep the Nation: Americans Unite Against Trump

On Saturday, crowds of protesters from various age brackets gathered en masse…

Champaign Co. EMA Secures Major Grant for Cutting-Edge Technology Enhancements

URBANA, Ill. — The Champaign County Emergency Management Agency is set to…

Temporary Closure of I-5 for Live Fire Drills at Camp Pendleton

In CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., a portion of Interstate 5 is set to…

UK Monarchy Sidelines Prince Andrew Amid Mounting Scandals: A Royal Shake-Up

It was the scandal that tipped the scales. Newly surfaced emails this…

Key Dates to Watch for the Potential Resolution of the Shutdown

As of Friday, the government shutdown has entered the ranks of the…

St. Pete Animal Shelter Seeks Urgent Help After Van Crash with 17 Pets Onboard

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A local animal shelter is urgently seeking…

Controversial Artillery Plans During Vance Visit Sparks Tension with California’s Newsom

A plan to conduct a live artillery exercise over a major highway…

Dramatic Rope Rescue Operation Unfolds in Church Hill, Hawkins County

CHURCH HILL, Tenn. (WJHL) — Emergency teams from the Hawkins County and…

Michigan Woman Wins $100K Powerball Jackpot with ChatGPT’s Assistance: A Modern Twist to Lottery Success

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A Michigan resident has credited ChatGPT with helping…

US Jury Slams BNP Paribas with $20M Verdict for Role in Sudanese Atrocities

A federal jury in New York has rendered a significant verdict against…