Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Caterpillars, Frogs, Big Birds and More...
- By T. A. Frail, Jesse Rhodes, Jessica Righthand, Brandon Springer and Sarah Zielinski
- Smithsonian magazine, October 2010
A computer-enhanced fossil of the mid-size Andalgalornis. (Witmer Lab)
Imagine a creature the size of Big Bird, but with a sharp beak and a less sunny disposition. Such “terror birds” stood up to seven feet tall and roamed South America for more than 50 million years, until they became extinct a few million years ago. Studying the 15-inch-long skull of the mid-size Andalgalornis, scientists from Argentina’s National University of La Plata and elsewhere say the fowl wielded its hooked beak like a pickax, hacking away at its prey.
Additional Sources
“Mechanical Analysis of Feeding Behavior in the Extinct ‘Terror Bird’ Andalgalornis steulleti (Gruiformes: Phorusrhacidae),” Federico J. Degrange et al., PLoS ONE, August 18, 2010
“Landing in basal frogs: evidence of saltational patterns in the evolution of anuran locomotion,” Richard L. Essner Jr. et al., Naturwissenschaften, July 13, 2010
“Apparent competition with an invasive plant hastens the extinction of an endangered lupine,” Emily M. Dangremond et al., Ecology, August 2010
“Visceral-Locomotory Pistoning in Crawling Caterpillars,” Michael A. Simon et al., Current Biology, August 24, 2010
“Frequency synchronization of blue whale calls near Pioneer Seamount,” Michael D. Hoffman et al., Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, July 2010
Comments (2)
Very nice Macro work
Posted by Steve on November 29,2010 | 06:19 PM
ok so scientists proved themselves wrong about caterpillars :O
Posted by BigDaddy24 on October 15,2010 | 04:26 PM