Preface: About 66 million years ago,
An asteroid up to 10 km in diameter
It crashed straight into what is now the Gulf of Mexico.
the chain reaction of impact,
The ecosystem has been hit hard.
It is the famous Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event,
Non-avian dinosaurs also became extinct.
Burning goose (however)
However, there is also such a group of "dinosaurs",
But survived this extinction
They are bird-type dinosaurs, birds that can be seen everywhere now.
After the mass extinction,
Birds became the only remaining vertebrates that could fly.
However, there is a group of birds that voluntarily give up the ability to fly,
Moved to land or ocean, and increased his size,
It became a peculiar "flying giant bird".
A wide variety of modern birds
The first generation of "ground chickens" - Gaston birds
It is said that after the mass extinction, the earth moved from the Cretaceous to the Paleogene period.
Since the extinction of the old dominators on land, non-avian dinosaurs,
There are a large number of gaps in the ecological niches everywhere
At this time, mammals on land had not yet risen,
Some birds took this opportunity to give up the ability to fly and chose to live on the ground.
And evolved a huge body size.
Just 10 million years after the mass extinction, the first giant bird flocks appeared on Earth, led by the Gastonian family Gastornithidae.
Restoration of the Gastornis bird
Gastornis, also translated as crested moa or Gordanis,
It lived in the late Paleocene to the middle Eocene of about 56 million ~ 45 million years ago.
Its body size is huge, some species under the genus stand nearly 2 meters tall, and the weight can reach about 300~450 kg.
They have thick legs and broad beaks.
Early research suggested that they were carnivores and appeared as ferocious predators in the BBC documentary Walking with Ancient Beasts.
A still from "Walking with the Ancient Beasts", in which the Gaston bird is depicted as a ferocious predator, preying on Propalaeotherium in its habitat
But in fact, the proportion of meat in their diet is not high, mainly based on plants, and it is now generally considered an omnivore.
The distribution range of ground-dwelling birds such as the Gaston ornithischidae is also wide.
Its subordinate species are found in Eurasia, North America and other places
They're huge.
At that time, the terrestrial ecological niche once occupied a dominant position,
It was one of the first birds to become large after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.
Gaston bird head restored, humble
Interestingly,
Although the Gaston bird is huge, it has a fate [hidden genji]
The gaston bird belongs to the order Galloanserae in the classification,
Other words
Modern chickens, ducks and geese are its distant relatives,
It can be described as a veritable "giant walking chicken"
Just because: "My ancestors were also wide!"
But what, good flowers have been beautiful since antiquity,
With the entry of the Eocene period, the power of mammals became stronger and stronger,
The early "giant walking chickens" led by Gaston birds finally did not bear the pressure of survival,
It became completely extinct in Europe about 45 million years ago.
Fossil restoration of the skeleton of the Gaston bird
Australian "giant chicken" - galloping bird
Mention the giant birds of the Australian continent hanging overseas,
The first thing that comes to mind is probably the emu of today.
But in terms of the largest bird in history,
It is a species of the Dromornithidae, a close relative of the Gaston family of birds.
Restoration of D. stirtoni
The galloping bird (Dromornis), also known as the running bird or thunderbird,
Lived on the Australian continent from the Miocene to the early Pliocene,
The largest of its genus, D. stirtoni, can stand up to 2.5 meters tall and weigh about 500 kilograms.
Like their "ground walking chicken" close relative, the Gaston bird, the galloping bird has a fate
[Chicken coincidence],
They belong to the order Chicken Goose and are properly "Australian giant chickens".
Although most species of the galloping bird family have a broad and thick beak, they seem to be very fierce.
But in fact, it is still an omnivorous animal dominated by plants.
With its wide beak, the Chi bird feeds on plants and occasionally eats small animals, carrion and the like
Genyornis is the latest surviving genus of galloping birds.
It lived in the late Pleistocene about 100,000 years ago
The only species in its genus, G. newtoni, is smaller than G. newtoni.
The standing height is only about 2 meters, and the weight is about 170~240 kg
The ancient monitor lizard (Varanus priscus) pursues the Newtonian giant bird
According to the traces of man-made destruction on the fossilized eggshells found so far,
Human hunting may be one of the reasons for the extinction of Newton's giant birds.
Early humans who landed in Australia picked up their eggs and captured them for food,
Eventually led to their extinction about 5~40,000 years ago
Ancient murals by Australian Aborigines, probably depicting Newtonian giant birds
The last giant bird - the ancient jaw class
When it comes to ancient jaws, you should all feel relatively unfamiliar,
However, many species under this classification are well known
For example, the largest bird in existence, the ostrich,
The second and third largest emu and crane plover,
Strange-looking kiwi and so on,
They all belong to the large family of Palaeognathae.
Brown kiwi, double-lodged crane plover, emu, and ostrich all belong to the ancient jaw class
Historically,
The Paleojaws family is rich in a variety of giant terrestrial birds.
The most famous is the moa bird order Dinornithiformes, which once lived in New Zealand.
Restoration of the northern giant moa (D. novaezealandiae).
There are several genera classifications under the order Moa, of which the southern giant moa (D. robustus) of the genus Dinornis
Standing tall up to about 3 meters and weighing about 250 kilograms
Moas have slender necks, small heads, and live by eating plants,
Because of the name, moa birds are often confused with another type of carnivorous giant terrestrial bird, the terror bird, that is, the scary bird, and the following picture is the real scary bird↓
Restoration of the bendered bird (Phorusrhacos).
There are nearly 10 species in the moa family,
They have lived in New Zealand for about 17 million years.
However, since humans set foot in New Zealand, moa, a meaty and low-combat animal, has been a favorite hunting object for locals
Moa birds are arguably the latest giant prehistoric birds to become extinct.
Under the continuous hunting of humans, the giant moa became extinct around the 13th century
The last moa was the genus Megalapteryx, which probably survived until about the 18th century before becoming extinct.
(At this time, it was all to the Qing Dynasty)
Highland moa restoration map
In addition to the moa birds of New Zealand,
Elephant bird family Aepyornithiformes, far away in Madagascar, Africa
It is also the body shape of the ancient jaw class.
Restoration of the giant elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus), with its giant egg laid in the lower left corner
Elephant birds, also known as dragon birds, are genus of giant elephant birds in the family Vorombe
Standing up to 3 meters tall and weighing more than half a ton,
It is the heaviest known bird.
Comparison of human and giant elephant bird size
furthermore
The eggs laid by elephant birds are also very large, the largest known eggs.
Eggs compared to elephant bird eggs
Elephant birds also went extinct relatively late, with the last elephant birds not going extinct until about the 16th century.
(This time corresponds to the Ming Dynasty period on the mainland)
Paleojaws are not only the above-mentioned extinct evolutionary birds that have produced giant terrestrial birds.
The surviving ostrich order Struthioniformes has also given birth to giant species.
For example, Pachystruthio, which lived from the late Pliocene to the middle Pleistocene,
The standing height reached about 3.5 meters and weighed nearly 400 kilograms, much larger than today's ostrich
Restoration of the genus P. dmanisensis
Don't look at the current ostrich, which is only distributed in one corner of Africa
In prehistoric times, ostrich species were widely distributed throughout Eurasia and Africa
For example, the fossils of the above-mentioned thick plover have been found in European countries and continents.
Human, modern ostrich versus thick ostrich body size
There are only two species of ostriches in one genus, the African ostrich (S. camelus) and the gray-necked ostrich (S. molybdophanes),
The former still dominates the list of existing birds with a proud body size of more than 2.5 meters and about 150 kilograms standing tall.
Continuing the glory of the ancestors for thousands of years.
African ostrich (S. camelus)
In today's South America, there is a group of relatively unpopular large ancient jaws,
They are the American plover, Rhea.
The large plover (R. americana) of the genus R. americana can stand up to 1.7 meters tall and weigh about 40 kilograms, much smaller than the African ostrich.
Great American plover (R. americana)
On the Australian mainland and adjacent islands today, there is such a group of well-known large ground-dwelling paleojaws,
That's Dromaius the Emus
With the crane ostriches Casuarius.
Emu is one of the large land-dwelling birds living on the Australian continent, standing up to 2 meters tall and weighing about 40~60 kg
It is the second largest surviving bird.
鸸鹋(D. novaehollandiae)
The crane is also known as cassowary,
But they have little to do with chickens
The nickname is said to come from the fact that they rummaged through human campfires for food.
It is found on the Australian mainland and the neighboring island of New Guinea.
There are 3 species in the genus Crane Plover, all with crests on the head and neck and bright flesh drops
The largest of these is C. casuarius, standing nearly 2 meters tall and weighing nearly 60 kilograms.
It is the third largest bird in existence.
Close-up of the heads of three types of cranes
The terrifying bird - the terrifying bird
On the other side of the sea, in South America,
There has also been such a group of ancient terrestrial giant birds
When it comes to their names, they are household names
They are the famous family Phorusrhacide.
Andalgalornis has a restored head and can see a hook-like beak
"Terror birds", burglar cranes, curved banded birds, dinosaurs, and many more
It's all aliases for birds
Because of the name,
It is often confused with the aforementioned Gaston bird (crested moa) and the New Zealand moa.
They belong to an ancient family called Cariamiformes.
The oldest fossil record in this family dates back to the end of the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago.
The black-legged crane is called Chunga, one of the only two remaining species of cranes
The early species of the family Birds are distributed in Europe, America and Africa, and are not large.
For example, Paleopsilopterus itaboraiensis, which lived in Brazil more than 60 million years ago in the middle of the Eocene,
Standing at about 1 meter tall, it is about the same as their modern relative, Cariama
Restoration of the ancient naked winged bird
Later, the range of the birds gradually retreated under the increasing strength of the northern mammals Boreoeutheria.
Finally, it retreated to the South American continent, which was still isolated at the time.
Due to the low combat power of local mammals in South America
Birds evolved into local dominant species, and together with ancient remnants of the dinosaur era such as land crocodiles, they ruled the South American continent.
Species of the family Phorusrhacidae had hooked beaks like modern birds of prey and a thick and strong skull, apparently carnivores.
Titanis prey on Hagman horses (Equus simplicidens), knocking out prey by pecking with beaks, and then immobilizing them with their hind limbs
When hunting, the prey is brought to the ground by pecking or impacting, and then combined with the hind limbs to fix the prey, the prey is disemboweled and broken.
The more famous species in the family Terrifiers,
There is a meandered bird (Phorusrhacos) that lived in Argentina in South America 2000~13 million years ago,
It stands tall and stands tall about 2.5 meters and weighs more than 150 kilograms.
Curved banded birds and Glyptodon corpses
The Carlinken bird (Kelenken) lived in Argentina during the mid-Miocene 15 million years ago, and it had a larger and stronger beak.
The standing height reached about 3 meters and weighed almost 250 kilograms.
Restoration of the Carlincoln Bird
And about 3 million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama formed by the movement of the earth's crust connected North and South America.
Animals from both places also began to migrate to each other's territories.
Standing 2.5 meters tall and weighing about 150~250 kg Titanis
It also came to North America from south to north with the army of animal migration.
Titan Bird fossil skeleton reconstruction
But the bird's dominance in South America for tens of millions of years began to falter during this migration.
As exotic predators such as felines from North America moved into South America,
As birds , they have over-specialized forelimbs and only beaks without teeth , which become their weaknesses
Although it has a height advantage against predators such as the blade-toothed tiger (Smilodon), it is difficult to defeat four legs on both feet
Titan Birds vs. Blade-toothed Tigers
The eggs they lay are also highly susceptible to opportunistic predators
Under the continuous action of various factors,
The ancient family of birds eventually became extinct about 100,000 years ago
The entire family of birds has existed on Earth for more than 60 million years, and [birds prosper],
More than a dozen genera and species have evolved
Today, only two of their close relatives, called cranes, are found in a corner of South America.
In their sharp eyes, it seems that you can still see the sassy heroic posture of the South American hegemon.
The red-legged crane (C. cristata) is one of the most closely related birds of the present day
Southern giant birds – penguins
Did the penguin family also produce giant species? Of course it is.
It is not only the land that produces giant birds, but even in the water.
Throughout ancient and modern times, strange water birds such as penguins are also [birds are talented]
The earliest species of the penguin order Sphenisciformes,
It is a Wilmanu penguin (Waimanu) in New Zealand during the Paleocene period about 60 million ~ 58 million years ago
Restoration of the Vimanu penguin
Even the earliest penguins, the Vimanu penguins, have a proud body size that stands up to 1 meter tall and weighs nearly 40 kilograms.
Compared to today's penguin species,
The Vimanu penguin has longer forelimbs and looks more bird-like
The giant bird penguin (Kumimanu), also from New Zealand about 60 million years ago
The body shape is even more king fried at the beginning,
The standing height reached about 1.6 meters and weighed more than 90 kilograms
It is the second largest known penguin in history.
Restoration of the giant bird penguin (Kumimanu) swimming
So who is the largest known penguin in history?
The answer is Palaeeudyptes in the late Eocene to late Oligocene Antarctic region
Its genus P. klekowskii
Reaching a height of 2 meters and weighing over 110 kilograms, it is the largest known penguin species.
Comparison of human and Karl's ancient crested penguins
The largest penguin today is the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri),
The standing height is only about 1.2 meters and the weight is 45 kilograms
If you stand next to the ancient crowned penguin of Karl, it is really a small witch!
Comparison of the size of the Cardinal Ancient Crested Penguin with the current emperor penguin
The deepest impression of animals such as penguins is that they are different from other birds in their standing posture and [steps that are not recognized by the six parents]
Three steps and one fall Five steps and one roll (bushi)
Because penguins are fished by diving,
If you want to swim faster, you must need a streamlined body,
So penguins elongated their torsos in the process of evolution to obtain a streamlined body
[Live torpedoes]
However, elongating the torso will make it difficult to maintain the balance of the horizontal standing position on land.
So, the penguins took an upright stand to maintain balance
This also makes them swing and swing when walking, which is very funny.
Penguin: "Can't walk? I'll still jump."
Cold knowledge:
The name Penguin is actually "pirated"
In the earliest days, "penguin" referred to the great auks (Pinguinus) in the Arctic.
Because a type of seabird (penguin) in the southern hemisphere is similar in appearance to the great auk, it is also called "penguin"
Later, the great auks became extinct under human hunting, and the "penguins" in the southern hemisphere came out on top and replaced the great auks.
became the only "penguin".
Great Auk: "It's bad luck"
Although the era of dinosaur dominance is long gone,
But birds that are descendants of dinosaurs
Still alive and well in the new era
Like their distant ancestors, they carved out different ecological niches from the top of the world
Today's birds, we may still be able to see the dinosaurs in them,
I vaguely see the glory of their ancestors.
END
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