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Argentavis

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Argentavis magnificens
Temporal range: Late Miocene, 6 Ma
↓
Reconstruction of A. magnificens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Cathartiformes (disputed)
Family:
†Teratornithidae
Genus:
†Argentavis

Campbell & Tonni, 1980
Species:
†A. magnificens
Binomial name
Argentavis magnificens
Campbell & Tonni, 1980

Argentavis magnificens ("magnificent Argentine bird", or more literally "magnificent silver bird") was among the largest flying birds ever to exist, quite possibly surpassed in wingspan only by the recently discovered Pelagornis sandersi. A. magnificens, sometimes called the giant teratorn, is an extinct species known from three sites in central and northwestern Argentina dating to the late Miocene, where a good sample of fossils have been obtained.[1]

Description

The single known humerus (upper arm bone) specimen of Argentavis is somewhat damaged. Even so, it allows a fairly accurate estimate of its length in life. Argentavis's humerus was only slightly shorter than an entire human arm.[2] The species apparently had stout, strong legs and large feet which enabled it to walk with ease. The bill was large, rather slender, and had a hooked tip with a wide gape.

Size

Argentavis had an estimated wing span of 5.1–6.1 m (16.7–20.0 ft) (depending on the method used for scaling, i.e. regression analyses or comparisons with the California condor), a height of circa 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft), and a mass of approximately 70–72 kg (154–159 lb). This made it the largest bird until another extinct species, Pelagornis sandersi, was described in 2014 as having a larger size (although only weighing 22–40 kg).[3][4] For comparison, the living bird with the largest wingspan is the wandering albatross, at 3.6 m (11.8 ft). Since A. magnificens is known to have been a land bird, another good point of comparison is the Andean condor, one of the largest extant land birds, with a wingspan of up to 3.2 m (10.5 ft) and weight of up to 15 kg (33 lb), and which is not too distantly related to Argentavis.

The ability to fly is not a simple question of weight ratios, except in extreme cases; size and structure of the wing must also be taken into account. As a rule of thumb, a wing loading of 25 kg/m2 is considered the limit for avian flight.[5] The heaviest extant flying birds are known to weigh up to 21 kg (46 lb) (there are several contenders, among which are the European great bustard and the African kori bustard). A mute swan, which may have personally lost the power of flight due to extreme weight, was found to have weighed 23 kg (51 lb).[6] Meanwhile, the sarus crane is the tallest flying bird alive, at up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall, standing about as high as Argentavis due to its long legs and neck.

The largest known flying creatures overall are not birds, but instead the azhdarchid pterosaurs of the Cretaceous. The wingspans of larger azhdarchids, such as Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, have been estimated to exceed 10 m (33 ft), with less conservative estimates being 12 m (39 ft) or more. Mass estimates for these azhdarchids are on the order of 200–250 kg (440–550 lb).[7]

Currently accepted estimates for the size of Argentavis are:

Paleobiology

Life history

Restoration of Argentavis flying above Pleistocene mammals

Comparison with extant birds suggests it laid one or two eggs with a mass of somewhat over 1 kg (smaller than an ostrich egg) every two years. Climate considerations make it likely that the birds incubated over the winter, mates exchanging duties of incubating and procuring food every few days, and that the young were independent after some 16 months, but not fully mature until aged about a dozen years. Mortality must have been very low; to maintain a viable population less than about 2% of birds may have died each year. Of course, Argentavis suffered hardly any predation, and mortality was mainly from old age, accidents and disease.[9]

Flight

From the size and structure of its wings it is inferred that A. magnificens flew mainly by soaring, using flapping flight only during short periods. It is probable that it used thermal currents as well. It has been estimated that the minimal velocity for the wing of A. magnificens is about 11 m/s or 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph).[10] Especially for takeoff, it would have depended on the wind. Although its legs were strong enough to provide it with a running or jumping start, the wings were simply too long to flap effectively until the bird was some height off the ground.[2] However, skeletal evidence suggests that its breast muscles were not powerful enough for wing flapping for extended periods.[11] Argentavis may have used mountain slopes and headwinds to take off, and probably could manage to do so from even gently sloping terrain with little effort. It may have flown and lived much like the modern Andean condor, scanning large areas of land from aloft for carrion. The climate of the Andean foothills in Argentina during the late Miocene was warmer and drier than today, which would have further aided the bird in staying aloft atop thermal updrafts.

Feeding

Argentavis' territories measured probably more than 500 km2, which the birds screened for food, possibly utilizing a generally north-south direction to avoid being slowed by adverse winds. This species seems less aerodynamically suited for predation than its relatives. It probably preferred to scavenge for carrion, and it is possible that it habitually chased metatherian carnivores such as Thylacosmilidae from their kills. Unlike extant condors and vultures, the other species of teratorns generally had long, eagle-like beaks and are believed to have been active predators, being less ponderous than Argentavis. When hunting actively, A. magnificens would probably have swooped from high above onto their prey, which they usually would have been able to grab, kill, and swallow without landing. Skull structure suggests that it ate most of its prey whole rather than tearing off pieces of flesh.[2]

References

  1. ^ Ancient American bird was glider. BBC, 2007-JUL-02. Retrieved 2008-JAN-14
  2. ^ a b c Campbell, Kenneth E. Jr.; Tonni, E. P. (1983). "Size and locomotion in teratorns" (PDF). Auk. 100 (2): 390–403.
  3. ^ a b Ksepka, D.T. (2014). "Flight performance of the largest volant bird". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111 (29): 10624–10629. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11110624K. doi:10.1073/pnas.1320297111. PMC 4115518. PMID 25002475.
  4. ^ Vergano, Dan (8 July 2014). "Biggest Flying Seabird Had 21-Foot Wingspan, Scientists Say". National Geopraphic. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  5. ^ Meunier, K. (1951). "Korrelation und Umkonstruktionen in den Größenbeziehungen zwischen Vogelflügel und Vogelkörper". Biologia Generalis (in German). 19: 403–443. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Wood, Gerald (1983). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
  7. ^ Witton, M.P.; Habib, M.B. (2010). "On the Size and Flight Diversity of Giant Pterosaurs, the Use of Birds as Pterosaur Analogues and Comments on Pterosaur Flightlessness". PLoS ONE. 5 (11): e13982. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013982. PMC 2981443. PMID 21085624.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  8. ^ a b c d Chatterjee, S.; Templin, R. J.; Campbell, K. E. (2007-07-24). "The aerodynamics of Argentavis, the world's largest flying bird from the Miocene of Argentina". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (30): 12398–12403. doi:10.1073/pnas.0702040104. PMC 1906724. PMID 17609382.
  9. ^ Palmqvist, Paul; Vizcaíno, Sergio F. (2003). "Ecological and reproductive constraints of body size in the gigantic Argentavis magnificens (Aves, Theratornithidae) from the Miocene of Argentina" (PDF). Ameghiniana. 40 (3): 379–385.
  10. ^ Vizcaíno, Sergio F.; Palmqvist, Paul; Fariña, Richard A. (2000). "¿Hay un límite para el tamaño corporal en las aves voladoras?". Encuentros en la Biología (in Spanish). 64. Archived from the original on 2001-05-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Yong, Ed (2007-07-08) Argentavis, the largest flying bird, was a master glider. notexactlyrocketscience.wordpress.com

Further reading

  • Campbell, Kenneth E. Jr.; Tonni, E.P. (1980). "A new genus of teratorn from the Huayquerian of Argentina (Aves: Teratornithidae)". Contributions in Science. 330. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: 59–68.
  • Wellnhofer, Peter (1996): The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. Barnes and Noble Books, New York. ISBN 0-7607-0154-7
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