Re: What really happened 65 Ma ago (not a joke)

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

John Bois wrote:

> > Firstly, almost all birds did die out.
>
> Unknown...Just the facts, Sir.

Well, the "facts" appear to back up David...  The Neornithes is the only 
bird clade that we know survived into the Cenozoic.  Yet, there many other 
bird clades in the late Cretaceous (including enantiornithines); these did 
not survive.  From a phylogenetic perspective, almost all birds did die out 
at the end of the Cretaceous.


Ron Orenstein wrote:

> Well, there are many oceanic islands with endemic hawks that probably lack 
> native predators but have not become giants (eg Hawaii, Fiji).  The 
> difference in NZ (as I see it) was the presence of large, heavy-bodied 
> prey, coupled perhaps with climate (I say the latter because, for example, 
> there seem to be no giant birds of prey known from places like, say, New 
> Caledonia, which also featured at least one large flightless bird).

Cuba had a giant bird of prey, which I believe was flightless: the mega-owl 
_Ornimegalonyx_.  I wonder if it was nocturnal?

There's also the roc of Madagascar, a giant predatory bird capable of 
picking up an elephant with its talons.  Says Marco Polo:

"According to the report of those who have seen them... they are just like 
eagles but of the most colossal size.... They are so huge and bulky that one 
of them can pounce on an elephant and carry it up to a great height in the 
air. Then it lets go, so that the elephant drops to earth and is smashed to 
a pulp. Whereupon the gryphon bird perches on the carcass and feeds at its 
ease. They add that they have a wingspan of thirty paces and their 
wingfeathers are twelve paces long and of a thickness proportionate to their 
length.... I should explain that the islanders call them rukhs and know them 
by no other name."

Of course, the roc (rukh) is mythical, but no doubt inspired by _Aepyornis_ 
and its eggs.  The elephant-grabbing abilities of the roc might be why 
_Aepyornis_ is commonly known as the "elephant bird", and not due to its 
impressive size.  _Aepyornis_ (and _Mullerornis_ too) were herbivores.  
AFAIK, the largest flying predator in Madagascar is the endangered 
Madagascar fish-eagle (_Haliaeetus vociferoides_), which has a wingspan of 
about 2m.



Tim