Pictures: Giant Fossil Bird Found With Spiky"Teeth"

Boasting a 17-foot (5.2-meter) wingspan and sharp, spiny"pseudoteeth,"this ancient seabird is one of the largest flyingbirdsknown, according to a study released Wednesday.

Soaring above the oceans and mountains of what's nowChilebetween five and ten million years ago, the newly discovered species, namedPelagornis chilensis,was part of a prehistoric group known as the bony-toothed birds. The hollow spikes on the birds' beaks allowed the predators to grab slippery squid and fish from the ocean.

P. chilensiswas identified based on an"exquisitely and exceptionally preserved"fossil skeleton that was found to be 70 percent complete, said study co-author David Rubilar of theMuseo Nacional de Historia Naturalin Chile.

The specimen includes the largest and most complete fossil bird wing yet excavated. Previous bony-toothed bird fossils included wings dug up in pieces, if it all, making it harder to accurately establish wingspan.

—Rachel Kaufman

New giant bird species study appears in theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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