A scientist at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich has identified the fossilized remains of a gigantic bird that apparently snatched fish while soaring over the ocean some 25 million to 28 million years ago.
The animal's estimated wingspan of around 21 feet is bigger than the height of a giraffe, making it the world's largest-ever flying bird, according to the Bruce Museum.
The skeleton was discovered in 1983 near the Charleston airport in South Carolina, but its first formal description was released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Daniel Ksepka of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, who wrote the paper, said the creature probably did not land on water and was apparently clumsy on land.
The bird is named Pelagornis sandersi. The name honors a retired Charleston museum curator who recovered the fossil.
