Ancient "terror bird" used powerful beak to jab like an agile boxer

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 17:35 in Paleontology & Archaeology

The ancient "terror bird" Andalgalornis couldn't fly, but it used its unusually large, rigid skull--coupled with a hawk-like hooked beak--for a fighting strategy reminiscent of boxer Muhammad Ali. The agile creature repeatedly attacked and retreated, landing well-targeted, hatchet-like jabs to take down its prey, according to a new study published this week in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE by an international team of scientists.

Read the whole article on Newswise - Scinews

More from Newswise - Scinews

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net