Phorusrhacos
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/* In Popular Culture */
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Phorusrhacos''
| fossil_range = [[Early Miocene]] - Mid [[Miocene]]<!-- Phorusrhacos died out during the Miocene: if it did not, PROVIDE SOURCES THAT SAID IT DID NOT -->
| image = Phororhacos.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Drawing of ''Phorusrhacos'' by [[Charles R. Knight]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Gruiformes]]
| familia = [[Phorusrhacidae]]
| genus = '''''Phorusrhacos'''''
| genus_authority = [[Florentino Ameghino|Ameghino]], [[1887]]
| species = '''''P. longissimus'''''
| binomial = ''Phorusrhacos longissimus''
| binomial_authority = Ameghino, 1887
| synonyms =
''see text''
}}
[[Image:PhorusrhacosLongissimus-Skull-BackgroundKnockedOut-ROM-Dec29-07.png|thumb|right|Skull of a Phorusrhacos longissimus. on display at the [[Royal Ontario Museum]], Toronto.]]
'''''Phorusrhacos''''' (pronounced "FOR-rus-RAH-kos") ("Rag-Bearer") was a [[genus]] of giant flightless [[predator]]y [[bird]]s that lived in [[Patagonia]], containing the single [[species]] '''''Phorusrhacos longissimus'''''. Their closest living relatives are [[Seriema]] birds. It was much larger than the seriemas, however, and looked more like an [[ostrich]] in appearance. These fierce birds lived in [[woodlands]] and [[grasslands]].
Among the bones found in the stratum of the [[Santa Cruz Formation]] (now considered as mainly of mid-[[Miocene]] date) was the piece of a mandible which [[Florentino Ameghino]] (1887) at first described as that of an [[edentate]] [[mammal]]. In [[1891]], it was recognized to be a bird. Remains are known from several localities in the [[Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)|Santa Cruz Province]], of Argentina.
''Phorusrhacos'' stood around 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall and weighed approximately 130 kilograms (280 lbs) (Alvarenga & Höfling, 2003). It was nicknamed the "Terror Bird" for obvious reasons: it was one of the largest [[carnivore|carnivorous]] birds to have ever existed, and its rudimentary wings formed arm-like structures with claws shaped like a [[meathook]] for tackling prey, which was then killed with the massive beak. It ate small mammals and [[carrion]]. It is thought{{who}} that the bird grasped its prey with its beak and smashed it to the ground repeatedly like its modern relatives, the [[Seriema]]s. It had an enormous skull up to sixty centimeters long, armed with a powerful, hook-tipped beak. The structure of the beak and the large claws on the toes show that this was a [[bird of prey]]. It raced over the grassy plateaus and hills of [[Patagonia]], catching small [[reptiles]] and [[mammals]].
==Synonyms==
''Phorusrhacos longissimus'' and its genus have been described under a number of [[synonym (zoology)|synonyms]]:
Genus-level synonymy:
* ''Phorusrhacos'' <small>[[Florentino Ameghino|Ameghino]], [[1887]]</small> (see Anonymous, 1992)
* ''Phororhacos'' <small>Ameghino, [[1889]]</small>
* ''[[Mesembriornis]]'' <small>[[Francisco Moreno|Moreno]], [[1889]]</small>
* ''Stereornis'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, [[1891]]</small>
* ''Darwinornis'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Owenornis'' <small>[[Francisco Moreno|Moreno]] & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Titanornis'' <small>Mercerat, [[1893]]</small>
* ''Callornis'' <small>Ameghino, [[1895]]</small>
* ''Liornis'' <small>Ameghino, 1895</small>
* ''Eucallornis'' <small>Ameghino, [[1901]]</small>
* The name is commonly misspelled "Phorusrhacus".
Species-level synonymy:
* ''Phororhacos longissimus'' <small>Ameghino, 1889</small>
* ''Stereornis rollieri'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Stereornis gaundryi'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Mesembriornis studeri'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Mesembriornis quatrefragesi'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Darwinornis copei'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Darwinornis zittelli'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Darwinornis socialis'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Owenornis affinis'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Owenornis lydekkeri'' <small>Moreno & Mercerat, 1891</small>
* ''Phororhacos sehuensis'' <small>Ameghino, 1891</small>
* ''Phororhacos platygnathus'' <small>Ameghino, 1891</small>
* ''Titanornis mirabilis'' <small>Mercerat, 1893</small>
* ''Callornis giganteus'' <small>Ameghino, 1895</small>
* ''Liornis floweri'' <small>Ameghino, 1895</small>
* ''Eucallornis giganteus'' <small>Ameghino, 1901</small>
* ''Liornis minor'' <small>Dolgopol de Saez, 1927</small>
The species ''Phororhacos inflatus'', however, has been re-classified into the genus ''[[Patagornis]]''.
== In Popular Culture ==
[[Image:Phorusrhacos longissimus.jpg|thumb|''Phorusrhacos longissimus'']]
*A [[stop motion]] ''Phorusrhacos'' under the synonym "Phororhacos" attacks the ship/balloon wreck survivors' camp in the film [[Mysterious Island (1961 film)]].
*"Terror Bird" is one of the monsters featured in the [[D&D]] assessory ''Fiend Folio'' (2003).
*''Phorusrhacos'' was also featured in the CGI series ''[[Walking with Beasts]]'' and in the series ''[[Prehistoric Park]]''. In the ''[[Walking with Beasts]]'' episode "Sabre-tooth", it is claimed that the phorusrhacids were displaced and eventually became extinct due to competition with [[sabre-toothed cat]]s immigrating from [[North America]], in spite of the fact that the [[Great American Interchange|Great Faunal Interchange]] took place during the [[Pliocene]], well after ''Phorusrhacos''<nowiki>'</nowiki> extinction during the Miocene (20 million years ago). The species portrayed is ''[[Titanis]]'', which, according to the series, is a member of the genus ''Phorusrhacos''; hence the confusion.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/475.shtml BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Phorusrhacos<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*"Phorusrhacos" is a type of monster in the [[MMORPG]] [[Final Fantasy XI]].<ref>[http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Phorusrhacos FFXIclopedia - Phorushacos<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*A hunting pair of "Terror Birds" are hunted and killed by the character [[Odysseus]] in [[Dan Simmons]]' book [[Ilium/Olympos|Ilium]] and later identified as ''Phorusrhacos'' by the character Savi.<ref>Simmons, D: ''Ilium'', New York: Harper Torch ISBN 0-380-81792-6</ref>
*Phorusrachos is mentioned in ''The Lost World'' novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, described in appearance as an 'ostritch with the head of a vulture' and with a beak sharp enough to cleave a slice of rubber off of Professor Challenger's boot.
*A specimen of the bird chases (but does not catch, as a boat is very near) one of the boys of [[Karel Zeman]]'s ''[[Journey to the Beginning of Time|Cesta do pravěku]]'' (1955) where it is called ''Phororhacos''.
*Also featured in the movie ''[[10,000_BC_(film)|10,000 BC]]'' (2008)
==Footnotes==
{{refs}}
==References==<!-- AmMusNovit2326:1 -->
*{{1911}}
* Alvarenga, Herculano M. F. & Höfling, Elizabeth (2003): ''Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes)''. ''Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia'' '''43'''(4): 55-91 [http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_pdf&pid=S0031-10492003000400001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en PDF fulltext]
* Ameghino, Florentino (1887): Enumeración sistemática de las espécies de mamíferos fósiles coleccionados por Carlos Ameghino en los terrenos Eocenos de la Patagonia austral y depositados en el Museo de La Plata. ''Boletin del Museo de La Plata'' '''1''': 1-26. [Article in Spanish]<!-- journal title could be "Notas...", not Boletin. -->
* Ameghino, Florentino (1889): Contribución al conocimiento de los mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina. ''Actas Academia Nacional Ciencias de Córdoba'' '''6''': 1-1028. [Article in Spanish]
* Anonymous (1992): Opinion 1687. ''Phorusrhacos'' Ameghino, 1887 (Aves, Gruiformes): not suppressed. ''Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature'' '''49'''(2)<!-- page numbers missing -->
[[Category:Extinct flightless birds]]
[[category:genera of birds]]
[[Category:Miocene birds]]
[[Category:Phorusrhacinae]]
[[Category:Pleistocene extinctions]]
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