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Phorusrhacidae ✝

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Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	39461	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=39461

Rank

family (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Phorusrhacidae

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Sauropsida	Huxley 1864
class	Reptilia	Laurenti 1768
subclass	Eureptilia
-	Romeriida	Gauthier et al. 1988
-	Diapsida
-	Eosuchia
-	Neodiapsida	Benton 1985
-	Sauria	Gauthier 1984
-	Archosauromorpha
-	Crocopoda	Ezcurra 2016
-	Archosauriformes	Gauthier 1986
-	Eucrocopoda	Ezcurra 2016
-	Archosauria
informal	Avemetatarsalia	Benton 1999
-	Ornithodira	Gauthier 1986
-	Dinosauromorpha	Benton 1985
-	Dinosauriformes	Novas 1992
-	Dinosauria
-	Saurischia
-	Theropoda
-	Neotheropoda	Bakker 1986
-	Averostra	Paul 2002
-	Tetanurae	Gauthier 1986
order	Avetheropoda	Paul 1988
suborder	Coelurosauria	Huene 1914
-	Maniraptora	Gauthier 1986
-	Paraves	Sereno 1997
class	Aves	Linnaeus 1758
suborder	Cariamae	Fürbringer 1888
family	Phorusrhacidae	Ameghino 1889

Common Name

terror bird

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Stereornithes	stated without evidence	Lambrecht, 1933
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Phororhacoidea	stated with evidence	Wetmore, 1960
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Cariamae	stated without evidence	Cracraft, 1968
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Cariamae	implied	Carroll, 1988
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Cariamae	stated without evidence	Alvarenga and Holfing, 2003
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Cariamoidea	stated without evidence	Livezey and Zusi, 2007
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Aves	stated without evidence	Shockey et al., 2009
Phorusrhacidae	family	belongs to Cariamae	stated with evidence	Angst et al., 2013

Status (PBDB)

extinct

Taxon Size (PBDB)

First Recorded Appearance

58.7 - 48.6 Ma
Paleogene

Last Recorded Appearance

0.78 - 0.01 Ma
Pleistocene

Environment

terrestrial (based on Phorusrhacidae)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Theropoda)

Diet

carnivore (based on Phorusrhacidae)

Reproduction

oviparous, dispersal=direct/internal,mobile (based on Theropoda)

Ontogeny

accretion,modification of parts (based on Theropoda)

Taphonomy

hydroxylapatite,compact or dense (based on Theropoda)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

F. Ameghino. 1889. Contribución al conocimiento de los mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina [Contribution to the knowledge of the fossil mammals of the Argentine Republic]. Actas de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de la República Argentina en Córdoba 6:xxxii-1027

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Brontornithinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	6	29.0 Ma Oligocene	16.0 Ma Miocene
Mesembriornithinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	6	6.80 Ma Miocene	3.60 Ma Pliocene
Patagornithinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	5	29.0 Ma Oligocene	9.00 Ma Miocene
Phorusrhacinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	21	29.0 Ma Oligocene	1.81 Ma Pleistocene
Psilopterinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	17	58.7 Ma Paleocene	10.00 Ma Miocene
Ameghinornis ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Kelenken ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)	1	15.5 Ma Miocene	15.5 Ma Miocene

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1889	Phororhacosidae Ameghino
1891	Darwinornithidae Moreno and Mercerat p. 24
1932	Devincenziidae Kraglievich
1932	Mesembriorniidae Kraglievich
1933	Phororhacidae Lambrecht p. 501
1950	Phororhacosidae Duplicate
1960	Phororhacidae Wetmore p. 23
1968	Phororhacidae Cracraft p. 43

Year	Name and Author
1988	Phorusrhacidae Carroll
2003	Phorusrhacidae Alvarenga and Holfing p. 64
2005	Phorusrhacidae Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi
2005	Phororhacidae Gould and Quitmyer p. 205 figs. Table 2
2007	Phorusrhacidae Bertelli et al. p. 410
2007	Phorusrhacidae Livezey and Zusi p. 91
2009	Phorusrhacidae Shockey et al.
2013	Phorusrhacidae Angst et al.

References

Ameghino F. Contribución al conocimiento de los mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina [Contribution to the knowledge of the fossil mammals of the Argentine Republic], Actas de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de la República Argentina en Córdoba 6, xxxii-1027

Moreno F. P., Mercerat A. Catalogue des Oiseaux Fossiles de la Republique Argentine conserves au Musee de la Plata, Anales del Museo de la Plata 1, 1-71

Lambrecht K. (1933) Handbuch der Palaeornithologie, 1-1024

Wetmore A. (1960) A classification for the birds of the world, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 139 11, 1-37

Cracraft J. (1968) A review of the Bathornithidae (Aves, Gruiformes), with remarks on the relationships of the suborder Cariamae, American Museum Novitates 2326, 1-46

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Alvarenga H. M. F., Holfing E. (2003) Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Avies: Ralliformes), Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 4, 55-91

Acosta Hospitaleche C., Tambussi C. (2005) Phorusrhacidae Psilopterinae (Aves) en la Formación Sarmiento de la localidad de Gran Hondonada (Eoceno Superior), Patagonia, Argentina, Revista Española de Paleontología 20 2, 127-132

Gould G. C., Quitmyer I. R. (2005) Titanis walleri: Bones of contention, Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 45 4, 201-229

Bertelli S., Chiappe L. M., et al (2007) A new phorusrhacid (Aves: Cariamae) from the Middle Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 2, 409-419

Livezey B. C., Zusi R. L. (2007) Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 149 1, 1-95

Shockey B. J., Gismondi R. S., et al (2009) Paleontology and geochronology of the Deseadan (late Oligocene) of Moquegua, Peru, American Museum Novitates 3668, 1-24 doi:10.1206/662.1

Angst D., Buffetaut E., et al (2013) ‘‘Terror Birds’’ (Phorusrhacidae) from the Eocene of Europe Imply Trans-Tethys Dispersal, PLoS One 8 11, e80357

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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