Creatures of the Past [Part 2 of 10] - Teratorns

Welcome back,

This time we are looking at the Teratorns; a name that basically translates to "Monster Birds".

Teratorns were basically gigantic vultures that soared over the plains of North and South America 12,000 years ago (which isn't that long ago in terms of the history of the Earth).The largest of which was the Argentavis magnificens. I know what you are thinking but, no, that Latin name is not a shameless travel advertisement for the magnificent country of Argentina. Good old A. magnificens had a wingspan was at the least 6 m but could have been as long as 8 m. For you non-metric peoples – that is between 20 and 26 ft. To put that into perspective, at the high end of that range, these birds had wings half the length of a transport truck trailer. 

These birds, most likely, were not very attractive. You need only to refer to a Turkey Vulture or a California Condor to see what I mean. While you may call a condor and other vulture-like birds “spectacular”, they are not exactly “magnificent” or “majestic”. These scavengers are built to smell rotten flesh from far away and remain disease free through the distribution of ammonia-packed feces. New World vultures have fleshy heads with giant holes as nostrils. Teratorns likely had the same complexion. 

In contrast to their modern counterparts, teratorns had longer, a stouter leg which suggests that they may have been able to stalk prey on the ground. Some feel that teratorns were active predators and only scavenged opportunistically. So, not only did you have to watch out for death from above, you also had to be aware that there might be a massive 80 kg terror with wings hiding in the bushes. 

That is my review of the teratorns. If you take anything away from this today I want it to be this: next time you see a pigeon that has got itself trapped in a bus shelter, remember that it once may have been a horrible nightmare that could chase you down from land or sky. Well – not really. But it was related to something that could have easily killed you and feasted upon your brains and organs thousands and thousands of years ago. Have respect for your feathered friends.