Teratorns - extinct giant birds of North America

I have never heard of these until last night when I was watching Alaska Triangle and they were talking about the Thunderbird. Super awesome!

[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

“ Teratornis was a genus of huge North American birds of prey – the best-known of the teratorns - of which, two species are known to have existed: Teratornis merriami and Teratornis woodburnensis. A large number of fossil and subfossil bones, representing more than 100 individuals, have been found in locations in California, Oregon, southern Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, though most are from the Californian La Brea Tar Pits. All remains except one Early Pleistocene partial skeleton from the Leisey Shell Pit near Charlotte Harbor, Florida (which may represent a different species or a subspecies) date from the Late Pleistocene, with the youngest remains dating from the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary.”


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