Patagorhacos fossil map
Where fossils of Patagorhacos have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 21–17.5 million years ago (Aquitanian to Burdigalian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Phorusrhacidae |
| Named by | Agnolin and Chafrat 2015 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina |
| Rock formations | Chichinales |
About Patagorhacos
Patagorhacos is an extinct genus of phorusrhacid ("terror bird") that lived during the early Miocene epoch (corresponding to the Colhuehuapian South American Land Mammal Age) of the Neogene period in what is now Río Negro Province, Argentina. The first specimen, an isolated quadrate (the upper jaw joint bone), was discovered in rock layers of the Chichinales Formation in Paso Córdoba, a National Protection area. In 2015, the specimen became the holotype (name-bearing) specimen of the new genus and species Patagorhacos terrificus; the generic name is a combination of Patagonia, where the fossils were found, and rhacos, the suffix of Phorusrhacos, another phorusrhacid. Other specimens have been assigned to Patagorhacos, including an incomplete ulna (forearm bone) and an associated specimen that contains parts of the skull, mandible (lower jaw), and hindlimbs. However, Patagorhacos remains poorly understood.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Patagorhacos (revision 1378599631), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q27947437.
