title: Flight performance of the largest volant bird.
abstract: Pelagornithidae is an extinct clade of birds characterized by bizarre tooth-like bony projections of the jaws. Here, the flight capabilities of pelagornithids are explored based on data from a species with the largest reported wingspan among birds. Pelagornis sandersi sp. nov. is represented by a skull and substantial postcranial material. Conservative wingspan estimates (∼6.4 m) exceed theoretical maximums based on extant soaring birds. Modeled flight properties indicate that lift:drag ratios and glide ratios for P. sandersi were near the upper limit observed in extant birds and suggest that pelagornithids were highly efficient gliders, exploiting a long-range soaring ecology.
authors.affiliation: National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC 27705; andDepartment of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 ksepka@nescent.org.
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Ksepka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D049628:Body Size; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Aves; Oligocene; fossil; paleontology; pseudotooth