Skip to content
Category

Phorusrhacinae

page 1
Titanis
Titanis (meaning "Titan" for the Titans of Greek mythology) is a genus of phorusrhacid ("terror birds", a group originating in South America), an extinct family of large, predatory birds, in the order Cariamiformes that inhabited the United States from the early Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The first fossils were unearthed by amateur archaeologists Benjamin Waller and Robert Allen from the Santa Fe River in Florida and were named Titanis walleri by ornithologist Pierce Brodkorb in 1963, the species name honoring Waller. The holotype material is fragmentary, consisting of only an incomplete r
Phorusrhacos
Phorusrhacos ( ) is an extinct genus of giant flightless terror birds that inhabited South America during the Miocene epoch. Phorusrhacos was one of the dominant land predators in South America at the time it existed. It is thought to have lived in woodlands and grasslands.
Kelenken
Kelenken is a genus of phorusrhacid ("terror bird"), an extinct group of large, predatory birds, which lived in what is now Argentina in the middle Miocene about 15 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered by high school student Guillermo Aguirre-Zabala in Comallo, in the region of Patagonia, and was made the holotype of the new genus and species Kelenken guillermoi in 2007. The genus name references a spirit in Tehuelche mythology, and the specific name honors the discoverer. The holotype consists of one of the most complete skulls known of a large phorusrhacid, as well as a
Devincenzia
Devincenzia is an extinct genus of giant flightless predatory birds in the family Phorusrhacidae or "terror birds" that lived during the Early Miocene (Deseadan) Fray Bentos Formation of Uruguay, Late Miocene (Huayquerian) Ituzaingó Formation, Early Pliocene (Montehermosan) of Argentina, and possibly the Early Pleistocene Raigón Formation of Uruguay. The type species D. pozzi was formerly known as Onactornis pozzi. The largest possible specimen weighed up to , making it one of the largest phorusrhacids and carnivorous birds known.