An extinct genus of massive flightless birds from the Paleocene epoch, standing up to 2 meters tall with powerful beaks.
From Greek 'gaster' (belly) + 'ornis' (bird), named by 19th-century paleontologists to describe the prominent abdominal region of these fossils.
Gastornis were terror birds that hunted when mammals were still tiny—they're proof that even after dinosaurs died, giant predators ruled the Earth for millions of years!
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