Giant toothed seabirds in the antarctic were the largest birds ever to fly

An extinct species of birds called pelagornithid, were the largest flying animals except for flying dinosaurs. They lived during the Eocene epoch, about 50 million years ago, at a time when the antarctic was warmer than today. These giant birds had 21 foot wingspans, larger than the largest bird today, which is another seabird called the albatross. In addition, the pelagornithid had a toothed beak. These were not actually teeth, but were tooth shaped edges to their beaks. These spikes helped them catch fish and other sea life. By eating fish and resting on the water, these giant animals could stay at sea and in the air for long periods of time. We don't know yet why they became extinct, but it was likely due to climate change. Pelagornithid was a remarkable creature and its relative, the albatross, still exists today and has many of the same characteristics of it extinct cousin.