When Dinosaurs Almost Came Back

Dinosaurs- at least the non-avian ones- died in the K-t extinction event and immediately after it mammals ruled. This…is false. After the extinction the sebecidae evolved and became a world leader. Sebacidae were ruling but they are in pseudosuchia and aren’t the stars of this article. Instead, I’m talking about terror birds.

In the late Jurassic period, the first dinosaur toke flight. Or rather a primitive version of it called gliding. This dinosaur is called Archaeopteryx. Archaeopteryx kept on evolving and diversifying turning into modern birds. But some branched off from Phorusrhacidae, but was still in it. Terror birds are dinosaurs but not the ones we tend to think of when someone says dinosaur(s).

Terror birds are exactly what the name implies. Birds on steroids that inflict terror on their prey. The first one came 62 million years ago but sebecids just simply beat them to the crown. But after the sebecidae stepped down, terror birds reached biodiversity level never before seen in their terror birds. Terror birds are dinosaurs and birds.

Terror birds weren’t the size you think a bird would be. Some species were as tall as a full grown human and even taller. The competitors for the largest terror bird is between the kelenken and brontornis. The brontornis is believed to have been built more stockily while the kelenken is thought to be taller. So it all depends on whether you think weight matters more than size. These 2 weren’t the only species of terror birds. There were ones like the Psilopterus, Devincenzia, Phorusrhacos, and Titanis. These were giants too, reaching sizes of fully grown human.

Terror birds were giant, flightless predatory birds that lived mostly in South America after the dinosaurs went extinct. They had long legs, powerful necks, and huge hooked beaks used to strike and tear prey. Some smaller species were about the size of a big dog, while the largest, like Kelenken and Devincenzia, could tower over humans. They were fast runners and likely hunted small mammals, reptiles, and other animals. Terror birds ruled as top predators for millions of years before disappearing as climates changed and new predators arrived.