New Phorusrhacid specimen - latest Nature

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Luis M. Chiappe, L.M. and Bertelli, S. (2006)  Palaeontology: Skull 
morphology of giant terror birds.  Nature 443: 929.

Begins...

"These monstrous birds were probably more agile and less portly than 
previously thought.

"The phorusrhacids ('terror birds') are an extinct lineage that includes the 
largest birds known1, 2, 3. Reconstructions of these Cenozoic carnivores 
have consistently highlighted a very high beak, round orbits and vaulted 
braincase, although minimal information is actually available for the skull 
of the largest species1, 2, 3, 4, 5. An important new fossil of a gigantic 
avian skull has been discovered from the middle Miocene of Patagonia 
(Comallo, Argentina), which reveals significant differences between the 
skulls of large and small phorusrhacids. We conclude that reconstructions of 
the skull of gigantic phorusrhacids on the basis of their smaller relatives 
are unwarranted, and that the long-established correlation between their 
corpulence and reduced cursorial agility needs to be re-evaluated.

"The enormous skull of specimen BAR 3877-11 is virtually complete. Its 
length (tip of rostrum to sagittal nuchal crest) is about 716 mm, making it 
the largest known avian skull...."

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