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 actua...