Ancient Seas #10

Ancient Seas

Pelagornis Sandersi

Photo from Sci-News

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Aves

Conservation Status: Extinct (EX)

Era: Upper Oligocene (25 million years ago)

WHAT WAS IT?

If you hadn't guessed, it was a very big bird. The largest flying bird to have ever lived, in fact. (That we know of.) This toothed bird had an estimated wingspan between 6.4-7.4m (21-24ft), which is twice as wide as a royal albatross which soars in the skies above the seas today. Pelagornis Sandersi was identified as a new species in 2014 by Dr Daniel Ksepka, a paleontologist associated with Bruce Museum in Connecticut, despite being discovered back in 1983. Dr Ksepka was the scientist who extrapolated the wingspan, theorised its feather coat, and postulated that this bird could in fact fly - despite its size.

Pelagornis means "pseudo-tooth"; this "toothed" bird actually had small spiny protrusions on its beak which functioned as teeth. They were not actual teeth for they did not have enamel, did not fall out, and were not replaced with new teeth. They just, were. They were believed to be feathered despite none of their feathers being fossilised. This bird had a small body and short legs, because of this and their impressive wingspan they were able to fly.

WHERE AND WHEN DID IT LIVE?

Pelagornis Sandersi lived over 25 million years ago in the Upper Oligocene era. At the time, the are a where these gargantuan birds were discovered was under the sea. Now, it is called South Carolina, a coastal southern eastern state in America. This area used to be the ocean because of the warmer climate and higher sea levels, due to less ice at the polar regions. These birds would have spent a lot of their life soaring over the oceans, and only coming to land to nest. It is theorised they nested on isolated island cliff faces to avoid predation - I'm guessing of their eggs rather than themselves. Imagine trying to take one those down! They would have also used the elevated platforms to take off, as their body shape and weight would not allow for a standing take off. It is believed they could fly up to 60km/h (37mph).

Artistic rendering from Amino

HOW DID IT LIVE?

As I said before, they would have spent a large amount of their time above the ocean. These giants would glide - soaring for miles and miles. They were excellent gliders, thanks to their immense wingspan, which is how we think of modern seabirds flying - soaring on thermal currents high above the waters. However, these prehistoric beasties are believed to have flown much closer to the water's surface despite being too big to take off from the water. Thankfully, their large wings made it easy to stay aloft. They would have hunted while flying over the seas; feeding on squid, fish, other birds, other birds' dinners. They used their toothy beaks to spear and grip slippery prey.

I keep mentioning that these birds really should not have been able to fly. They weighed 21.8-40.1kg (48-88.4lbs) and while still lighter than an ostrich this mass coupled with its sized points to being flightless. However, its small body and most of its size being in its wings meant that this creature defied the odds and flew. There is evidence to suggest that these birds even moulted feathers during flight when they became unflight-worthy, often en-mass because of their sheer size. 

WHY DID THEY GO EXTINCT?

The short answer? No one knows. They vanished around 3 million years ago and before that there were pelagornithids (pseudo-toothed birds) on every continent, even Antarctica. These birds were amazing and there is honestly nothing like them living today. Maybe as scientists study them further and discover more specimens they will figure out how and why these unique birds vanished from existence. Until then, it will have to remain a mystery!

Artistic rendering by WillemSvdMerwe

FUN FACTS

• The first fossils were discovered outside a South Carolina airport, as they were trying to develop new runways.
• Pelagornis Sandersi is the largest, flying bird specimen found to date.
• Although, it is still dwarfed by some pterosaurs which were up to double the size of pelagornis sandersi! The largest pterosaur is Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan of 7-13m (23-43ft).
• It was named after the former curator of Charleston Museum, SC, Albert Sanders.

Listening to: WALK THE MOON