Named By: | Alexander Wetmore in 1927 |
Time Period: | Chadronian |
Location: | USA, Colorado - Chadron Formation |
Size: | Uncertain due to lack of remains and conflicting opinions. If similar in size to a modern day black vulture (Coragyps atratus), then the wingspan would be approximately 1.5 meters across, if a third larger like others have suggested then the wingspan would approach 2 meters across |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Lower right of a Tibiotarsus (one of the leg bones) |
Classification: | | Chordata | Aves | Cathartiformes | Cathartidae | |
Phasmagyps, is an extinct genus of New World vulture in the family Cathartidae, known from one Oligocene fossil found in Colorado. The genus contains a single described species, Phasmagyps patritus which is possibly the oldest New World vulture known, though its placement in the Cathartidae family has been questioned.