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Terror Bird Floated Like A Butterfly, Stung Like A Bee
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23-08-2010 12:53pm#1A study on the prehistoric phorusrhacid (or 'terror bird') Andalgalornis has provided new insights into the killing technique of these poweful predators.Phorusrhacids have been extinct for millions of years, yet the so-called terror birds just got a bit more frightening.
The flightless birds stood up to ten feet (three meters) tall and had hook-beaked heads the size of horse heads. Now a new study has apparently deciphered how the birds used those fearsome skulls—employing a fighting style like that of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
Researchers used CT scans of terror-bird skulls and biomechanical computer models to conclude that the birds likely used a speedy, graceful, strike-and-retreat style, killing their prey with a succession of punishing, hatchet-like blows.
Full article here.
Image by Greg Wenzel4
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