did terror birds eat humans

Skull structure edit

These birds were previously believed to have vaulted braincases, round orbits, and high beaks[22], but there was never enough empirical data to support this theory. However, new fossils have been discovered in Comallo, Argentina. The terror bird’s skulls show that it has a more compact caudal region, a hooked rostrum that is longer than half of the skull, and a triangular dorsal view. It was discovered that the nose’s external nares and antorbital fenestras were more square-shaped than triangular. All of these result in a skull that is less triangular and more rectangular in shape. [22] The way the fossils are arranged also suggests that these birds might have been faster than previously believed. [22].

Recently, a skull belonging to a smaller subspecies of this bird was also discovered. This fossil revealed that the beak’s interior structure is hollow and supported by trabeculae with thin walls. Additionally, there is a lack of zona flexoria palatina and zona flexoria arcus jugalis, two important characteristics linked to the development of cranial akinesis. The finding of this skull makes it possible to establish primary osteological homologies, which are helpful for phylogenetic, functional morphological, and comparative anatomy research. [23].

Palaeobiology edit Restoration of

Most phorusrhacids were very fast runners. Each member had a strong neck, large, sharp beak, and sharp talons. Even so, it’s commonly believed that the phorusrhacids fed on relatively small animals—roughly the size of a rabbit—that could be killed with little difficulty. This is due to the phorusrhacids’ beak proportions, which prevent the jaw from producing enough bite force to kill the prey. This can be disputed because many big-game hunters, like Smilodon, Great White Sharks, and Allosaurus, have evolved to kill large prey, not away from it. Instead, they rely on the presence of a cutting edge, a wide gape made possible by the reduction of jaw musculature, and the driving force of the body or neck. These predators have weaker bite forces and frequently laterally weak skulls. Phorusrhacids may have been specialized predators of relatively large prey because they share many adaptations, including a large, laterally flattened skull with a sharp-edged beak and powerful neck musculature [24][25].

The beak’s tightly fused bones made it more resistant to force applied from the front to the back, indicating that pecking could inflict more damage than head movements that move the head side to side, such as shaking prey. Generally speaking, it is believed that a terror bird would use its feet to kick and hold its prey, then use its large beak to peck at it in order to kill it. Larger prey may have also been attacked by kicking and pecking, or by slashing or striking vital organs with the beak. Only known phorusrhacid.

The theory that phorusrhacids are nimble predators of small prey is contradicted by recent research showing that at least some of them, like Andalgalornis, are not very good at making sharp turns at high speeds even though they are extremely quick runners in a straight line. [27].

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