Toothy bird had a record-breaking 17ft wingspan

September 17, 2010 1:00 PM

Researchers have discovered the fossil of a scary-looking bird which had a monster 17ft wingspan and was the biggest bird to ever fly.

The winged giant - which lived 5-10 million years ago in Chile - was twice the size of the biggest modern-day birds like the albatross.

Experts say the Pelagornis chilensis also had bony-teeth which would have been useful for catching slippery prey in the open ocean such as fish and squid.

The newly discovered and largely complete Pelagornis chilensis skeleton now said to be important for understanding the physics behind how birds fly.

However, given the bird could have coexisted with the earliest humans it may also explain why some people always paranoid about being attacked by birds.

Dr Gerald Mayr of the Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg in Germany said: "Bird watching in Chile would be thrilling if birds with more than five meter wingspans and huge pseudoteeth were still alive.

"Although these animals would have looked like creatures from Jurassic Park, they are true birds, and their last representatives may have coexisted with the earliest humans in North Africa."

LINKS
Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg

http://newslite.tv/2010/09/17/toothy-bird-had-a-recordbreaki.html