Scientists in Argentina discover a new species of condor
Scientists in Argentina discover a new species of condor
BUENOS AIRES (CTYS).- With the wings open, its total length is around 2 meters and 50 centimeters and because it had stronger claws than the current condor, paleontologists estimate that it could hunt its prey. The fossil was found in Marcos Paz, just 34 kilometers from the capital city of Buenos Aires.
The researcher of the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (MACN-CONICET) Federico Agnolin commented to the Agencia CTyS-UNLaM that "this discovery is unique for Argentina, because it is the first time that a well preserved specimen of an extinct condor has been found and, until now, its existence was unknown."
This new type of condor was baptized as Pampagyps imperator. "His name means something like emperor vulture of the Pampas", said Agnolin, lead author of the study that is going to be published in the Journal of the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences. After that, he added: "It was a large condor, which may have reached up to three meters wide with open wings".
If someone travels 30 thousand years to the past, when this bird prevailed in the skies of the Pampean region and the man had not reached these latitudes, he would find a mega terrestrial fauna completely different from the one we have now.
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Hard to conceive of a bird with almost a 10-ft. wingspan, although Wiki says some condors today can have wingspans that wide.
With those claws though, it would not have been a safe place for small animals and kids! 
