Procariama

Name: Procariama (Before Cariama - the genus name for the red legged seriema bird).
Phonetic: Pro-ca-re-am-ah.
Named By: Rovereto - 1914.
Classification: Chordata, Aves, Cariamae, Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae.
Species: P. simplex (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: About 70 centimetres tall.
Known locations: Argentina - Cerro Azul Formation & Andalhuala Formations.
Time period: Late Miocene to early Pliocene.
Fossil representation: Enough to identify one species.

       Although Procariama was one of the famous South American ‘terror birds’ it was actually one of the smallest being of a comparable size to Psilopterus and Paleopsilopterus, the other members of the Psilopterinae sub group. As such Procariama would have had a focus upon smaller prey animals that were too small for the larger terror birds like Devincenzia.

Further reading
- Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes). - Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43. 55–91. Accessed 2017-10-01. - Herculano M.f. Alvarenga & Elizabeth Höfling - 2003.
- First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy, palaeogeography and chronological range. - Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 36. 157–169. Accessed 2017-10-01. - Raúl Ignacio Vezzosi - 2012.

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