A massive meat-eating bird sat high atop the food chain about 12 million years ago. Researchers analyzed a bone of the creature found in northern South America nearly 20 years ago and determined that it was likely a “terror bird” related to Phorusrhacids, according to a report in Palaeontology.
Terror birds were carnivorous, living off small to mid-sized mammals. Earlier examples of Phorusrhacid fossils grew up to 9 feet tall. But this one was likely 5 percent to 20 percent larger, based on the size of the bone the researchers studied. It is the largest such find of its kind.
