Paleopsilopterus

Name: Paleopsilopterus ‭(‬Ancient Psilopterus‭)‬.
Phonetic: Pa-leo-sil-op-the-rus.
Named By: Alvarenga‭ ‬-‭ ‬1985.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Cariamae,‭ ‬Phorusrhacidae,‭ ‬Psilopterinae.
Species: P.‭ ‬itaboraiensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Up to‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter high.
Known locations: Brazil.
Time period: Selandian of the Paleocene.
Fossil representation: Fossils to identify one species.

       Paleopsilopterus is one of the smallest and by far earliest of the terror birds with fossils dating back as far as sixty million years ago.‭ ‬In a world that had seen the disappearance of the dinosaurs under five million years before its existence,‭ ‬Paleopsilopterus thrived and was likely the form that would go onto to produce a greater diversification of terror birds including giants such as Kelenken and Brontornis.‭

Further reading
- Um novo Psilopteridae (Aves: Gruiformes) dos sedimentos Terciários de Itaboraí, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. - Congresso Brasileiro de Paleontologia 8:17-20. - H. Alvarenga - 1985.



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