Many Teratorn bone samples contributing to modern research have been found at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Teratorn. I look over my shoulder expecting someone coming to get me, but instead my sister points up to a big bird that perched itself on top of the next building that we were leaving from. Six million years ago, the skies of Argentina were home to fearsome predator - Argentavis magnificens, the largest bird to ever take to the air. Argentavis magnificens, sometimes called the Giant Teratorn, is an extinct species known from three sites in the Epecun and Andalhual Formations in central and northwestern Argentina dating to the Late Miocene (Huayquerian), where a good sample of fossils has been obtained. They needed large open area suchs as the Great Plains or the Argentine Pampas to navigate and hunt." "The loss of the Buffalo would have a devastating effect on the migratory habits of a bird of such size." [3], An analysis of the Teratorn pelvic girdle and stout, columnar hind leg bones suggests that its legs had greater anteroposterior ability than those of condors, and that the birds were agile and well-suited for walking and stalking prey on the ground similarly to storks and turkeys. Condors fly by means of soaring on rising up-currents, generally weak currents that are subject to sudden changes in direction or strength. As a rule of thumb, a wing loading of 25kg/m2 is considered the limit for avian flight. Mothman: Rejected mainly because the descriptions are too different and this creatures sightings were limited to West Virginia. In the third edition of mynonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America,an encounter in theChesapeake area, near the border between Maryland and Virginia, may relate to other sighting reports that I have received from Virginia: I was twenty years old, taking a camping trip with my boss and his friends, and I believe it was near the Maryland-Virginia line in the Chesapeake area. It's worth noting that the species could very well have had a much larger range than is currently known. I think 20' wingspan is a gross exaggeration. Giant birds called teratorns (or wonder birds) once flew over New Mexico. First, the basics: the largest known living flying bird (as opposed to flightless ones like ostriches), the wandering albatross, has a wingspan from 8 to 11.5 feet. I believe it lived on the lake. The American Meteor Society (AMS) said it received 146 reports about a fireball seen over Texas and Oklahoma around 6:45 p.m. CT Tuesday. Strange sightings of a huge flying creature have been reported as recently as six months ago. It was about forty feet high, behind my house and flying very slowly, with nothing remarkable about it except that it was about one in the morning CST and it was alone. This is when the Teratorn flew the skies of North America. Locals of northern Mexico and the Rio Grande of Texas have long spoken of a giant bird creature which they call, The one I saw back in the ,70s looked like s pteradactyl. The Giant Teratorn Argentavis magnificens was an absolutely enormous species of flying bird which lived in Argentina during the late Miocene, about six million years ago. Its status was recently reinforced when it was highlighted on the 1998 Yorkshire Television/Discovery Channel series on cryptids, Into the Unknown. [8][4][9] Argentavis retains the title of the heaviest flying bird known still by a considerable margin, for example Pelagornis weighed no more than 22 to 40kg (49 to 88lb). The prehistoric bird is supposed to be extinct, but New Mexico reports from the 1800s say the bird may still exist. With luck, we may get some photos soon. Might scientists find previously unknown species of birds? The Sarus Crane is the tallest flying bird alive, standing nearly as high as Argentavis due to its long legs. I dont relish being thought of as a liar or being prone to exaggeration, but it was BIG. Okay, so I was looking through the page and I saw a story about someone who saw a really big bird and I remembered about something I saw once. [16] 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 happened so fast that others questioned if they actually saw anything at all. If the thunderbird were the giant extinct teratorn Argentavis, this is how it would compare in size with a human [with illustration], Legal terms and conditions for using this site, Why a pterodactyl sighting should be reported. Another video from Michael Schwab, a witness in the area, shows the gator being lifted off the ground using a tow truck. It allows a fairly accurate estimate of its length in life, which was a bit shorter than an entire human arm. While ugly and HUGE (and can bite), they mostly eat other bugs. He says he's seen what most have not an unidentified flying object, one that still scares him. I had just about convinced myself it was in my head till I read this. [3], On the other hand, their flight was similar to that of condors. According to Mexican folklore you are supposed to whistle back to it, say curse words, and stay out of the darkness, especially if you are a not so good person yourself. However, Spanish-speaking areas seem to see more goat-sucking action. Physical characteristics Currently accepted estimates: Wingspan: 5.8-8 m (19 - 26 ft) Wing area: nearly 7 m (75 square ft) Wing loading: c. 11.5 kg/m Length: 3.5 m (11.5 ft) Height: 1.7-2 m (5.6-6.5 ft) Weight: 60-80 kg (140-180 lb) For comparison, the living bird with the largest wingspan is the Wandering Albatross (3.63 m). [10][11] For the T.merriami, small prey such as frogs, lizards, young birds, and rodents were swallowed whole, while carrion would have been fed on in a manner similar to that of condors or vultures. Science, the Western response to mystery, largely ignores the sightings of giant birds and other cryptids that pop up more or less worldwide. For news updates, follow Chaz Miller on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ", Argentavis, the largest flying bird, was a master glider, "Physical limits of flight performance in the heaviest soaring bird", "Palaeoenvironmental and faunal inferences based on the avian fossil record of Patagonia and Pampa: what works and what does not", BBC News: Ancient American bird was glider, Secret of flight for world's largest bird revealed, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Argentavis&oldid=1132779797, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2020, Taxonbars with multiple manual Wikidata items, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Height: 1.5 to 1.8m (4ft 11in to 5ft 11in), This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 15:01. Look at the tallest man in the world. Over a hundred specimens have been found, mostly from the La Brea Tar Pits. "It's just part of the environment," Isaac Veras said. It was gliding, with an occasional slow, smooth flap. More recently, extraordinarily large birds have been sighted in the Dona Ana Mountains. Maybe I should look up more often. [6] Indeed, it seems to have been better adapted for utilizing a short run into the wind from an elevated location as condors do, as its legs are proportionally smaller and its stride less than in condors. Other anatomical features, such as the relatively small and sideward facing orbits and the low skull, are also consistent with a scavenging lifestyle. July 31, 2007 in Featured News, Videos and Articles. A. magnificens, sometimes called the giant teratorn, is an extinct species known . About this time, several school teachers witnessed the strange bird, with a wingspan of at least 12 feet across. With lots of local lore come lots of potential cryptid sightings, and honestly, were here for it. THANK YOU!!! . Argentavis's humerus was only slightly shorter than an entire human arm. Another mythical creature or spirit said to roam the deserts of New Mexico includes the Mexican banshee known as La Llorona, and then theres El Coco, a boogeyman-type of character said to abduct children at night. It is probable that it used thermal currents as well. "I was wondering what that was! Its a little late. I just received another email regarding a pterosaur sighting in Virginia. The American South West is truly home to the world's largest flighted birds, so it's not surprising to me that folks in San Antonio would be seeing one of their huge feathered friends and mistaking it for something other than what it really is. Brittney Griner surprises fans at MLK Day fest, 'Absolutely': Why Sean Payton is open to taking Texans HC job, New Texas cruise terminal now serving the worlds largest ships, What C.J. If I hadnt have known they were there, I would never have noticed them. I would not have believed it unless I saw it. One of our favorite New Mexico cryptids isnt really a cryptid at all so much as a Native American legend known as the Thunderbird. I remember I was hunting at my grandfathers ranch, which is less than two miles away from my house. The image that the teacher found depicted a pterosaur. Even so, it allows a fairly accurate estimate of its length in life. Teratorns are thought to have been attracted by Pleistocene megafauna that became stuck and died in the viscous asphalt while trying to drink from pools of water that gathered on the surface, with the teratorns subsequently falling victim to the sticky deposits. Beautyofbirds.com's team of experts includes veterinarians, biologists, environmentalists and active bird watchers. Guadalupe Cantu III was busy working his newspaper route, but he says the big news of that day 10 years ago flew right over his car. . large rodents, small armadillos and the young of large animals such as ground sloths. A television station broadcast a picture of an alleged bird track that measured about twelve inches long. Their fossil record is limited exclusively to North and South America. I went to my knees so that it would not see me. BELTON, Texas The American Meteor Society (AMS) says it began receiving reports of fireball sightings across Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday, Jan. 10 around 6:45 p.m. The avian emitted a shrill screech. It probably preferred to scavenge for carrion, and it is possible that it habitually chased metatherian carnivores such as Thylacosmilidae from their kills. This condor can weigh up to 15kg (33lb). I've made several posts about Thunderbirds on this forum and live in San Antonio and have never heard of any recent sightings. It had no feathers . I was only 17 at the time. It may have flown and lived much like the modern Andean condor, scanning large areas of land from aloft for carrion. "That's their home.". Argentavis may have used its wings and size to intimidate metatherian mammals and small phorusrhacids from their kills. Strange sightings of a huge flying creature have been reported as recently as six months ago. 5 feet. 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. Teratorns - The Monster Birds 188,577 views May 10, 2020 7.8K Dislike Share Save Ben G Thomas 543K subscribers Millions of years ago giant birds of prey ruled the Americas - the Teratorns.. Their legs were similar to an Andean condor's, but stouter, and the feet could hold prey for tearing off pieces, but could not exert a very forceful grip like birds of prey. Size and structure of the wing must also be taken into account. In the comments, hundreds gave their accounts of what they witnessed and uploaded clips captured from their dash cams and home security cameras, including Herzog who shared a video his brother and sister-in-law filmed in San Antonio. I had spent countless hours as a child studying dinosaurs and playing with dinosaur models. Well, the temperature started dropping rapidly, clouds started to cover the sky, and a gentle (but cold) breeze settled in. Sign up for a new account in our community. Live Pterosaur Sightings in Virginia. The first teratorn fossils were discovered in 1909 in famous La Brea Tar Pits in . [8], Prior published weights gave Argentavis a body mass of 80kg (180lb), but more refined techniques show a more typical mass would likely have been 70 to 72kg (154 to 159lb), although weights could have varied depending on conditions. . Its believed it got lost during migratory flight. They stayed around for about 45 55 minutes, then just drifted south until we werent able to focus on them any longer. Other huge birds include storks, pelicans, the Andean condor, with a wingspan up to 10 feet, and the endangered California condor, which tops out at 9.5 feet across. The AMS received video footage from Ring doorbells and dash cameras that show the extremely bright fireball traveling rapidly toward earth. This is seemingly true as well of Argentavis but other teratorns were likely far less ponderous considering the substantial size differences. Look at its probable descendent--the California Condor. Most people in New Mexico have heard of La Llorona, the Weeping Woman. She enjoys binge-watching anime and films makeup tutorials in her spare time. Both the Spotted Owl and Spix's macaw are nearly extinct because of rapid deforrestation and in the case of hte spotted owl, because there isn't expansive territory to sustain thier numbers. In an update posted to Twitter, Norvell said the gator had been safely caught and relocated to Gator Country near Beaumont. I think I saw this mentioned on the news. It stood about 75 cm (29.5 in) tall with estimated wingspan of perhaps 3.5 to 3.8 metres (11.5 to 12.5 ft), and its weight has been estimated within the range of 12.5-15.0 kg with 95% confidence; making it about a third bigger than extant condors. To: obiwan@ghosts.orgSubject: WWW Form SubmissionDate: Sunday, May 07, 2006 11:10 PMName: LupeEmail: LITTLElulu17@aol.comLocation: Amarillo Texas. Canceled | Southwest apologized for ruining Christmas. . The world's largest, most popular dino event is coming to Fort Worth, Southwest pilots union leader calls on strike vote after holiday chaos. . "Caught it on my dash cam while traveling north on Interstate 37. It was cloudy and the sky was all orange so all I saw was the shape, but it was the same size because the wing span was about my height. 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