It belonged to an extinct group called pelagornithids that thrived from about 55 million years ago to three 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. Shown left, a California Condor, shown right, a Royal Albatross. Line drawing of Pelagornis sandersi, showing comparative wingspan. 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. The wandering albatross, a magnificent seabird that navigates the ocean winds and can glide almost endlessly over the water, boasts the biggest wingspan of any bird alive today, extending almost 12 feet (3.5 meters).īut it is a mere pigeon compared to an astonishing extinct bird called Pelagornis sandersi, identified by scientists on Monday from fossils unearthed in South Carolina, that lived 25 to 28 million years ago and boasted the largest-known avian wingspan in history, about 20 to 24 feet (6.1 to 7.4 meters).
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