Bearer

Phorusrhacos (Four-rus-rak-cus) - A large, carnivorous, flightless bird from the Miocene of South America.  Regarded as a "Terror Bird" because of its formidable appearance and size.  Phorusrhacos had a total body length of around 2.8 metres, and it stood approximately 2.4 metres tall.  The skull was nearly 65 cm long and it had a huge, hooked beak that was probably used to stab prey. A set of footprints from a related South American "Terror Bird" revealed that the second toe of each foot was held off the ground and that this toe had a large, curved claw similar to the sickle-shaped toe claw of Velociraptor!  This toe claw probably helped Phorusrhacos to pin down its victims.