Fossilized Remains of World's Largest Flying Bird Unearthed

Scientists have unearthed what may be the fossilized remains of the world's largest flying bird, in South Carolina.

Known to be twice as big as the Royal Albatross - scientists at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina discovered the remains of the extinct giant bird that had an estimated wingspan of 20-24 feet. This bird knocks the previous record of the long extinct bird named Argentavis magnificens and is named 'Pelagomis sandersi' in honor of the retired Charleston Museum Curator Albert Sanders, who led the fossil excavation.

The extinct giant bird lived some 25-28 million years ago, long after the dinosaurs were wiped out from the world. It was initially unearthed in 1983 near Charleston, South Carolina. A team of construction workers discovered it while conducting excavations for a new terminal at the Charleston International Airport. Due to the massive size of the specimen, the crew used backhoe to unearth the remains.

The specimen is currently housed at the Charleston Museum. The finding is amazing as the well-preserved specimen has multiple wing and leg bones as well as a complete skull. Author Dan Ksepka of the Center could easily identify it as an unknown species of pelagornithid, based on its size and telltale beak. Pelagornithid are the extinct group of giant seabirds that are known for their bony tooth-like spikes that used to be placed in the upper and lower jaws.

The scientists claim that P.sandersi could fly. But, not much is known on how these birds managed to take off and remain afloat despite the huge size.

To evaluate the flight performance, Ksepka added the fossil data into a computer program that predicts the flight performance based on mass, wingspan and wing shape. The analysis showed that the bird was too big to take off by simply flapping its wings and then launching into air.

"P. sandersi may have gotten off the ground by running downhill into a headwind or taking advantage of air gusts to get aloft, much like a hang glider. Once it was airborne, the bird's long, slender wings made it an incredibly efficient glider. By riding on air currents that rise up from the ocean's surface, P. sandersi was able to soar for miles over the open ocean without flapping its wings, occasionally swooping down to the water to feed on soft-bodied prey like squid and eels," the author said.

The finding was documented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.