Bathornis
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Bathornis Temporal range: Late Eocene - Early Miocene 37–20 Ma |
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| Bathornis veredus yawning. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Cariamiformes |
| Family: | Bathornithidae |
| Genus: |
†Bathornis Wetmore, 1927 |
| Type species | |
| †Bathornis veredus Wetmore, 1927 |
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| Species | |
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†B. celeripes Wetmore, 1933 |
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| SynonymsDonald Farner, 2012 & Gerald Mayr, 2013 | |
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?Neocathartes |
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†B. celeripes Wetmore, 1933
†B. cursor Wetmore, 1933
†B. fricki Ostrom, 1961
†B. geographicus Wetmore, 1942
†B. grallator Olson, 1985
†B. minor
†B. veredus Wetmore, 1927
and see text.
?Neocathartes
Palaeogyps
Palaeocrex
Bathornis ("tall bird") is a lineage of extinct birds related to modern day seriemas, that occurred in North America about 37–20 million years ago. Like the also closely related and extinct phorusrhacids, it was a flightless predator, occupying predatory niches in environments classically considered to be dominated by mammals. It was a highly diverse and successful genus, spanning a large number of species that occurred from the Priabonian Eocene to the Burdigalian Miocene epochs.
Though most material is highly incomplete, Bathornis is nonetheless known from a variety of skeletal elements: hindlimbs (most commonly tarso-metatarsals), forelimb elements (especially humeri), pelvises and skulls.Bathornis grallator is known from a mostly complete skeleton, including the skull, bearing a proportionally large, hooked beak. The bathornithid second toe is currently unknown, but the first toe is highly reduced, as with most Cariamiformes, and like phorusrhacids it possesses a robust jugal and reduced processus acrocoracoideus of coracoid, two features possibly having evolved in convergence due to their similar lifestyle.
Overall, Bathornis is a long legged, short-winged, large skulled bird, similar in shape to phorusrhacids. Its numerous species span a large diversity of body sizes, ranging from forms about as large as modern seriemas to 2 meter tall animals.
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