Bathornithidae
| Bathornithidae Temporal range: Eocene to Early Miocene 55–20 Ma | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cariamiformes |
| Family: | Bathornithidae J. Cracraft, 1968 |
| Species | |
| |
Bathornithidae is an extinct family of birds from the Eocene to Miocene of North America. Part of Cariamiformes, they are closely related to the still extant seriemas and the also extinct Phorusrhacidae. They were likely similar in habits, being terrestrial, long-legged predators, some of which attained massive sizes.
Biology
Though some forms like Neocathartes were capable of flight, larger taxa like Paracrax were flightless,[1] constituting examples of flightless birds in mammal dominated environments. Paracrax in particular might have occupied a macropredatory niche akin to that of phorusrhacids, being a 2 meter tall predator.
Bathornis proper appears to have favoured wetland environments. It was a highly diverse genus, spanning a wide variety of species at various sizes, from the Eocene to the Miocene.[2]
References
- ↑ 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. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ Benton, R. C.; Terry, D. O.; Evanoff, E.; McDonald, H. G. (25 May 2015). The White River Badlands: Geology and Paleontology. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01608-9.