![]() But this group developed "pseudoteeth " to serve the same purpose. The last birds with teeth went extinct 65 million years ago in the same calamity that killed the dinosaurs. ![]() It belonged to an extinct group called pelagornithids that thrived from about 55 million years ago to 3 million years ago. With its short, stumpy legs, it may not have been graceful on land, but its long, slender wings made it a highly efficient glider able to remain airborne for long stretches despite its size. Up close, it may have called to mind a dragon." "This bird would have just blotted out the sun as it swooped overhead. "Anyone with a beating heart would have been struck with awe," said paleontologist Daniel Ksepka of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, who led the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It had a series of bony, tooth-like projections from its long jaws that helped it scoop up fish and squid along the eastern coast of North America. That approaches the wingspans of ultralight airplanes and hang glider, which are in the range of 8.5 to 9 metres. The bird lived 25 to 28 million years ago and boasted the largest-known avian wingspan in history, about 6.1 to 7.4 meters. The royal albatross, with a wingspan of 3.5 metres, is a mere pigeon compared to an astonishing extinct bird called Pelagornis sanders, identified by scientists on Monday from fossils unearthed in South Carolina. ![]() The biggest flying bird that ever lived had double the wingspan of today's biggest flying bird, the royal albatross. ![]()
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