Superpredator fossils discovered in Antarctica
Fossilized claws belonging to a terror bird have been discovered in Antarctica. The presence of this superpredator could well offer a new scenario for reconstructing Antarctic ecosystems during the Eocene.
Two meters high and weighing a hundred kilos. Although it couldn’t fly, it could run fast and attack its prey thanks to its long, curved-tipped beak. Nicknamed the terror bird, the phorusrhacid (Phorusrhacos longissimus) was probably the dominant superpredator in Antarctica. These are the conclusions of a study published last month in the scientific journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
Two 8-centimetre fossilized claws of what appears to be a phorusrhacid have been discovered on Seymour Island in the Antarctic by two paleontologists.
Both phalanges were collected from levels corresponding to the early Eocene. According to the authors, the bird was probably an active predator that hunted and fed on the small to medium-sized marsupials and ungulates that lived on the island and were thought to be the main predators: “These terror birds-like, constitute the first evidence of apex predators within the continental environments, a niche that was seemingly underoccupied by other terrestrial vertebrates, which were mainly represented by medium to large-sized ungulates and small marsupials during the Eocene.”, note Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche, paleontologist and professor at the National University of La Plata, and Washington Jones, Doctor of Biological Science at the National Museum of Natural History in Montevideo.
A discovery that could well lead to a reconsideration of the scenario for the reconstruction of past Antarctic ecosystems: “This finding fundamentally changes our understanding of the dynamic within the Antarctic continental ecosystems during the early Eocene.”, note the authors.
This is not the first time fossils have been discovered on Seymour Island. The island is part of the James Ross archipelago and lies off the Antarctic Peninsula, north of Snow Hill, from which it is separated by Picnic Passage.
Since 1969, it has been home to Argentina’s Marambio scientific base. The island is also an interesting spot for paleontologists, as it is home to numerous fossils from the Eocene period, which stretches from -56 to -34 million years ago and is marked by the appearance of the first modern mammals.
Fossils of large penguins, marsupials, ungulates, frogs and even Elasosauridae (the long-necked marine dinosaur) have been discovered on the island in recent decades.
Mirjana Binggeli, PolarJournal
More on the subject
