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Name: Kelenken
Pronunciation: KELL-en-ken Diet: Carnivore Height: 9 -10 feet (2.5 - 3 meters) Weight: 300 - 500 Pounds (136 - 226 Kg) Location: Argentina Time: Mid Miocene, 15 million years ago |
Kelenken was a huge “Terror Bird” (Phorusrhacid), which lived well after the dinosaurs were extinct. He was named after a winged deity in local South American mythology.
He had the largest skull of any known bird with a length of 28 inches (71cm), of which was mostly his beak of 18 inches (46cm). Along with the nearly complete skull fossil, an 18 inch (45cm) tarsometatarsus was discovered. The tarsometatarsus is a bone in the leg of flightless birds (like ostriches). Although a full skeleton has not been discovered, these two pivotal pieces indicate that Kelenken might well have been the largest of the Terror Birds.
Kelenken’s swift speed and strong beak made him the apex predator of his time, though he would not have been opposed to scavenge on an available carcass.
He had the largest skull of any known bird with a length of 28 inches (71cm), of which was mostly his beak of 18 inches (46cm). Along with the nearly complete skull fossil, an 18 inch (45cm) tarsometatarsus was discovered. The tarsometatarsus is a bone in the leg of flightless birds (like ostriches). Although a full skeleton has not been discovered, these two pivotal pieces indicate that Kelenken might well have been the largest of the Terror Birds.
Kelenken’s swift speed and strong beak made him the apex predator of his time, though he would not have been opposed to scavenge on an available carcass.