Class Aves
Order Accipitriformes
Family Teratornithidae
The order to which these birds belong is unsettled, some placing them in the Accipitriformes and some in the Ciconiiformes.
This large, extinct probable raptor was reported from Dry Cave by Campbell and Tonni (1981) on the basis of a UTEP specimen (a palatine bone). Harris (1993c) listed the taxon as present in Animal Fair, Dry Cave. Dr. Campbell later found that his comparative material was a mixture of two species, and the palatine was re-identified as that of Aquila (in litt.). Thus, there is no evidence that this taxon occurred in New Mexico.
Sites.
Late Wisconsin: Stanton's Cave (Rea and Hargrave 1984).
Literature. Campbell and Tonni 1981; Harris 1993c; Rea and Hargrave 1984.
Last Update: 5 Feb 2013