Birds evolved from small predatory dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period, with Archaeopteryx being the earliest known bird. Ratites were large flightless birds, including ostriches and emus, while phorusracids, or “terror birds,” were dominant predators in South America. The largest extinct bird was the elephant bird, while terror birds are the one category of extinct bird we can be thankful for.
Birds evolved from a group of small predatory dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period, 155 million years ago. The most famous extinct bird is also the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx. The first complete specimen was found in southern Germany in 1861. The fossil, about 0.5 m (1.6 ft) long, has characteristics intermediate between theropod dinosaurs and modern birds, a prime example of a transitional fossil. For example, it was covered in feathers, had broad wings and the ability to fly, but its skeletal structure was more like that of a dinosaur and included a “killer claw” on its feet. The existence of Archeopteryx helped support Darwin’s arguments for evolution and natural selection at a crucial time.
Another famous type of extinct bird was the ratites, large flightless birds that live in South America, Africa and Australia. Ratites are flightless birds with a similar body type, represented today by ostriches, emus, rheas, kiwis, cassowaries, and tinamis. The African ostrich is the largest living bird, with the tallest members of the species reaching 3.3 m (10 ft) in height and 154 kg (340 lb) in weight.
Some extinct ratites were even larger, reaching heights of 3.6 m (12 ft) in the case of the Giant Moa, which lived in New Zealand until the 1500s, and weights of up to half a ton (454 kg or 1,000 lbs) in the case of the Elephant, an extinct bird that lived in Madagascar until the 1500s. The elephant bird is the largest bird that ever lived, and was nearly as tall as an elephant.
Another category of extinct birds, the phorusracids, or “terror birds,” have been the dominant predators in South America for more than 60 million years, from just after the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, to 1.8 million years ago, when they became extinct, probably due to competition from mammals from the Isthmus of Panama from North America. Terror Birds were up to 3.3 m (10 ft) tall, with skulls up to 0.7 m (2 ft) long. These massive skulls could have been used to kill numerous mammals found in South America at the time with a single blow. Terror birds are the one category of extinct bird that we can be more thankful for went extinct.
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