he new species of phorusrhacids recognized as Llallawavis scagliai
lived in Argentina in the course of the Pliocene period. Its almost
complete skeleton reveals that this "terror bird," a carnivorous,
flightless bird that grew up to 10 feet in height, had a restricted
vocal variety with low frequency.
(Photo : F. Degrange, M. Taglioretti and F. Scaglia )
The flightless phorusrhacids, which are recognized as terror birds, have been 1 of the top rated predators in South America ahead of they went extinct 2.five million years ago. Scientists have now identified one of the most full fossils of this ancient bird to date.
Scientists have identified a practically full skeleton of the new species of phorusrhacids recognized as Llallawavis scagliai and this permitted them to study the creature's anatomy in unprecedented detail, as nicely as gain much more insights about the bird identified for its hooked beak and taste for meat.
The discovery, which was reported in the newest situation of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, has much more than 90 % of its skeleton preserved, revealing the hearing capabilities of this predatory bird and marking the initially time that structures involving hearing sensitivity had been reconstructed for a terror bird. The detailed uncover may perhaps aid offer explanation of the behavior, evolution and ecology of this particular group of extinct birds.
Paleontologists stated the new species. which lived in Argentina about three.5 million years ago for the duration of the Pliocene Epoch, measured 4 feet tall and had a terrifying appearance. Compared with the birds that currently live nowadays, the fossil bird likely had hearing that was in all probability under average.
Scientists claim that the flightless bird, whose name implies Scaglia's Magnificent Bird after one of the most well-known naturalists from Argentina, Galileo Juan Scaglia, had a limited vocal range with low frequency, which raises the idea that the flightless bird may well have utilised low-frequency sounds to detect its prey.
"The mean hearing estimated for this terror bird was beneath the average for living birds," said Federico "Dino" Degrange, lead author of the study from the Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra (CICTERRA), CONICET and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina. "This seems to indicate that Llallawavis may possibly have had a narrow, low-vocalization frequency range, presumably utilized for intraspecific acoustic communication or prey detection."
Researchers reconstructed the structure of the inner ear of the bird with the help of 3D computed X-ray tomography and found that the Llallawavis would have a hearing variety of about three,800 Hz and a sensitivity of about 2,300 Hz. The human ear can detect sounds with frequencies that variety in between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, suggesting that the predatory birds have been greater at detecting lower-frequency sounds compared with humans.
Degrange stated that the discovery of this species showed that terror birds had been far more diverse in the course of the Pliocene period than previously believed. It also permitted scientists to evaluation the hypothesis with regards to the decline and extinction of this group of fossil birds.
(Photo : F. Degrange, M. Taglioretti and F. Scaglia )
The flightless phorusrhacids, which are recognized as terror birds, have been 1 of the top rated predators in South America ahead of they went extinct 2.five million years ago. Scientists have now identified one of the most full fossils of this ancient bird to date.
Scientists have identified a practically full skeleton of the new species of phorusrhacids recognized as Llallawavis scagliai and this permitted them to study the creature's anatomy in unprecedented detail, as nicely as gain much more insights about the bird identified for its hooked beak and taste for meat.
The discovery, which was reported in the newest situation of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, has much more than 90 % of its skeleton preserved, revealing the hearing capabilities of this predatory bird and marking the initially time that structures involving hearing sensitivity had been reconstructed for a terror bird. The detailed uncover may perhaps aid offer explanation of the behavior, evolution and ecology of this particular group of extinct birds.
Paleontologists stated the new species. which lived in Argentina about three.5 million years ago for the duration of the Pliocene Epoch, measured 4 feet tall and had a terrifying appearance. Compared with the birds that currently live nowadays, the fossil bird likely had hearing that was in all probability under average.
Scientists claim that the flightless bird, whose name implies Scaglia's Magnificent Bird after one of the most well-known naturalists from Argentina, Galileo Juan Scaglia, had a limited vocal range with low frequency, which raises the idea that the flightless bird may well have utilised low-frequency sounds to detect its prey.
"The mean hearing estimated for this terror bird was beneath the average for living birds," said Federico "Dino" Degrange, lead author of the study from the Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra (CICTERRA), CONICET and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina. "This seems to indicate that Llallawavis may possibly have had a narrow, low-vocalization frequency range, presumably utilized for intraspecific acoustic communication or prey detection."
Researchers reconstructed the structure of the inner ear of the bird with the help of 3D computed X-ray tomography and found that the Llallawavis would have a hearing variety of about three,800 Hz and a sensitivity of about 2,300 Hz. The human ear can detect sounds with frequencies that variety in between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, suggesting that the predatory birds have been greater at detecting lower-frequency sounds compared with humans.
Degrange stated that the discovery of this species showed that terror birds had been far more diverse in the course of the Pliocene period than previously believed. It also permitted scientists to evaluation the hypothesis with regards to the decline and extinction of this group of fossil birds.
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