Paleopsilopterus
Sign in to savePaleopsilopterus is an extinct genus of large, flightless, predatory birds classified within the order Cariamiformes. It is generally placed in the subfamily Psilopterinae of the family Phorusrhacidae, commonly known as "terror birds," although its precise taxonomic placement has been subject to debate.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Phorusrhacidae
Show 4 more facts
- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon name
- Paleopsilopterus
- start time
- 58000000-0
- end time
- 46000000-0
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
1 sectionsContents
- External links
Paleopsilopterus is an extinct genus of large, flightless, predatory birds classified within the order Cariamiformes. It is generally placed in the subfamily Psilopterinae of the family Phorusrhacidae, commonly known as "terror birds," although its precise taxonomic placement has been subject to debate.
Paleopsilopterus lived during the Early Eocene (approximately 53 to 50 million years ago), specifically within the Itaboraian South American Land Mammal Age. Fossils of the only known species, Paleopsilopterus itaboraiensis, have been discovered in the Itaboraí Formation near São José de Itaborai in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Paleopsilopterus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.