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Description

The South American Thunderbird (my unofficial name for it) (Brontornis burmeisteri) is a giant bird known from the Early and Middle Miocene of South America (Argentine Patagonia).

TAXONOMÍA y EVOLUCIÓN
Lawd hamercy, this is a mess. Brontornis is a taxonomic mess due to the lack of conclusive fossil material to rightly classify it. The earliest records are known from the Early Miocene (Santacrucian Era, ~17.5-16.3 mya). They are considered to either be a Galloanseriform (fowl) or Phorusrhachoid (terror birds) species.

B. burmeisteri is the largest known species of the monotypic genus.

Their ties to other birds is not yet known; its tibiotarsus is noted to be similar to that of Phorusrhacids. Some other material, including the jaw quadrate & lower mandible, seem to be less reminiscent of terror birds, implying strong jaw muscle attatchment. A paper by Agnolin in 2013 mentions that their thoraic vertebrae is similiar to that of Galloanseriform birds, like Gastornis.

A tentative family of Brontornithidae is provided.

DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY
The size of B. burmeisteri is estimated to from its femur dimensions. A maximum height estimate of ~2.8m (= 8.2 ft) is provided by Alvarenga and Höfling (2003); its weight is estimated at ~350-400kg (= 770-880 lbs), per Alvarenga and Höfling (2003), Degrange et al. (2012), & Campbell and Marcus (1992).

Their habitat likely included open, herbaceous savannah, dry forest, and possibly other types of forests to provide enough food... if Brontornis was herbivourous.

Aa aforementioned, the mandible implies the attatchment of strong jaw muscles called adductors, which are typically strong and well-developed in herbivorous species, i.e. Dromornis and Gastornis. Perhaps they fed on tough plant material, like palm nuts or shelled fruits? On the other side, because we lack any material of the upper mandible, we don't know if it was hooked like in Terror Birds or blunt-ended as in the formerly mentioned herbi-birds. The tarsometatarsi was stout and thique, which is NOT an aspect of a predatory species. This goes in favor of the herbivorous nature of Brontornis. One can only speculate at this point.

Brontornis lived alongside other birds such as Terror Birds (Phorusrhacos, Patagornis, & Psilopterus ssp.), tinamou, vultures, falcons, and probably much more than what's currently known; mammals such as Astrapotherium, monkeys like Homunculus, litopterns such as Theosodon spp., toxodontids such as Nesodon, an array of xenarthrans such as Hapalops, Peltiphilus, and Stegotherium, and sparassodonts. The possibilities of interactions are endless! I could totally see A pair of Brontornis foraging amongst a heard of Astrapotherium in a thicket, or amongst Theosodon and Nesodon! Maybe some paleoart inspo there. Perhaps it was an untouchable tank? Maybe only determined terror birds could take it down. Maybe it was sympatric with Barinasuchus?! Oh man! So much inspo there.

WHY I PORTRAYED IT THIS WAY
Brontornis doesn't have that much obviously-terror bird-influenced art out there. I felt like making a middle ground with this taxon; a somewhat hooked beak for omnivory, mixed a powerful, Dromornis-influenced beak that could make short work of tough seeds! Outside of that, the body plan was inspired by fowl. For the plumage, I imagined what a gigantic, (possible) plant-eating, Neotropical bird would look like in a South American savanna. This was my result!

Description

The South American Thunderbird (my unofficial name for it) (Brontornis burmeisteri) is a giant bird known from the Early and Middle Miocene of South America (Argentine Patagonia).

TAXONOMÍA y EVOLUCIÓN
Lawd hamercy, this is a mess. Brontornis is a taxonomic mess due to the lack of conclusive fossil material to rightly classify it. The earliest records are known from the Early Miocene (Santacrucian Era, ~17.5-16.3 mya). They are considered to either be a Galloanseriform (fowl) or Phorusrhachoid (terror birds) species.

B. burmeisteri is the largest known species of the monotypic genus.

Their ties to other birds is not yet known; its tibiotarsus is noted to be similar to that of Phorusrhacids. Some other material, including the jaw quadrate & lower mandible, seem to be less reminiscent of terror birds, implying strong jaw muscle attatchment. A paper by Agnolin in 2013 mentions that their thoraic vertebrae is similiar to that of Galloanseriform birds, like Gastornis.

A tentative family of Brontornithidae is provided.

DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY
The size of B. burmeisteri is estimated to from its femur dimensions. A maximum height estimate of ~2.8m (= 8.2 ft) is provided by Alvarenga and Höfling (2003); its weight is estimated at ~350-400kg (= 770-880 lbs), per Alvarenga and Höfling (2003), Degrange et al. (2012), & Campbell and Marcus (1992).

Their habitat likely included open, herbaceous savannah, dry forest, and possibly other types of forests to provide enough food... if Brontornis was herbivourous.

Aa aforementioned, the mandible implies the attatchment of strong jaw muscles called adductors, which are typically strong and well-developed in herbivorous species, i.e. Dromornis and Gastornis. Perhaps they fed on tough plant material, like palm nuts or shelled fruits? On the other side, because we lack any material of the upper mandible, we don't know if it was hooked like in Terror Birds or blunt-ended as in the formerly mentioned herbi-birds. The tarsometatarsi was stout and thique, which is NOT an aspect of a predatory species. This goes in favor of the herbivorous nature of Brontornis. One can only speculate at this point.

Brontornis lived alongside other birds such as Terror Birds (Phorusrhacos, Patagornis, & Psilopterus ssp.), tinamou, vultures, falcons, and probably much more than what's currently known; mammals such as Astrapotherium, monkeys like Homunculus, litopterns such as Theosodon spp., toxodontids such as Nesodon, an array of xenarthrans such as Hapalops, Peltiphilus, and Stegotherium, and sparassodonts. The possibilities of interactions are endless! I could totally see A pair of Brontornis foraging amongst a heard of Astrapotherium in a thicket, or amongst Theosodon and Nesodon! Maybe some paleoart inspo there. Perhaps it was an untouchable tank? Maybe only determined terror birds could take it down. Maybe it was sympatric with Barinasuchus?! Oh man! So much inspo there.

WHY I PORTRAYED IT THIS WAY
Brontornis doesn't have that much obviously-terror bird-influenced art out there. I felt like making a middle ground with this taxon; a somewhat hooked beak for omnivory, mixed a powerful, Dromornis-influenced beak that could make short work of tough seeds! Outside of that, the body plan was inspired by fowl. For the plumage, I imagined what a gigantic, (possible) plant-eating, Neotropical bird would look like in a South American savanna. This was my result!