Titanis

Taxobox
name = "Titanis"
status = EX
fossil_range = Early to Late Pliocene

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image_width = 200px
image_caption = Reconstruction of "Titanis" with hypothetical wing-claws
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Gruiformes
familia = Phorusrhacidae
genus = "Titanis"
genus_authority = Brodkorb, 1963
species = "T. walleri"
binomial = "Titanis walleri"
binomial_authority = Brodkorb, 1963

"Titanis" (.

Description

It was convert|2.5|m|ftin|abbr=off|lk=on tall and weighed approximately convert|150|kg|lb|abbr=off|lk=onFact|date=February 2007, but with large variance (perhaps indicating strong sexual dimorphism).cite journal |last=Alvarenga |first=H. M. F. |authorlink= |coauthors=Höfling, E. |year=2003 |month= |title=Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes) |journal=Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=55–91 |id= |url= |accessdate= |quote= ] Though its head has not been found, it certainly would have been large, with a huge, axe-like beak, as in its relatives. The wings were small and could not have been used for flight. The wing bones articulated in a unique joint-like structure, suggesting the digits could flex to some degree, and it has been suggested that they could have supported some type of clawed "finger", though there is no direct evidence of this. Overall, it was very similar to the South American "Phorusrhacos" and "Devincenzia", its closest relatives. Little is known of its body structure, but it seems to have been less wide-footed than "Devincenzia", with a proportionally much stronger middle toe.cite journal |last=Brodkorb |first=P. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1963 |month= |title=A giant flightless bird from the Pleistocene of Florida |journal=Auk |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=111–115 |id= |url=http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v080n02/p0111-p0115.pdf |accessdate= |quote= ] ("Onactornis" is now considered a junior synonym of "Devincenzia").

In popular culture

"The Flock", a novel by James Robert Smith published in August 2006, featured a surviving group of "Titanis walleri" in central Florida. "Titanis" will also make an appearance in the third season of the ITV science-fiction television series "Primeval". These predators can be seen in Roland Emmerich's movie 10.000 BC.

References

External links

* dinosoria.com: [http://www.dinosoria.com/titanis.htm "Titanis walleri" reconstructions] . Retrieved 2007-FEB-09.
*cite news |first=Jeanna |last=Bryner |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Huge, Terrifying Carnivorous Bird Invaded North America Long Ago |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246019,00.html?sPage=fnc.science/evolution |work=Fox News |publisher= |date=2007-01-23 |accessdate=