Re: On Terror Birds & Teratorns

["Brian Lauret" <zthemanvirus@hotmail.com>]

> From: "Ivan Kwan" <dino_rampage@hotmail.com>
> Reply-To: dino_rampage@hotmail.com
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: On Terror Birds & Teratorns
> Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 23:25:46 +0800

Here you get my answer on some of these questions.

> 1) Are the terror birds really closely related to the seriemas of South 
> America?
Certainly,the seriemas are basal to phorusrhacids,though not to the 
diatrymids,wich are galloanserian.the path seriema->terror bird is known by 
several more or less intermediate steps,such as bathornithids and 
Aenigmavis.

> 3) Did any terror birds survive until the Late Pleistocene?
I think Titanis was represented in the La Brea pits while other terror birds 
could be found in SA.

> 4) Is _Titanis_ the only North American phorusrhacid?
For as far as I know,yes.

> 5) Which teratorns survived until the Late Pleistocene?
Teratornis itself (known from NA as well as Cuba) and Cathartornis.I'm quite 
sure they were still present in SA as well.
> 6) Is the teratorn-as-giant-vulture hypothesis still accepted?
By some,yes,but others including me favor them to be giant groundwalking 
birds hunting small to mediumsized vertebrates as well as eating carrion.As 
for teratornid-relationships,little is known. They're
possibly closer related to other birds,like storks and pelicans,than to 
cathartids.(or accipittrids,pandionids,sagitarids or falconids for that 
matter)
> 7) Did teratorns have bare necks, feathered necks or is it still unknown?
Unknown

I hope I helped you,
Brian

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