| Zeropteryx | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Name: |
Zeropteryx torova |
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Abilities and Weapons: |
Powerful Beak, Legs, Claws |
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Occupation: |
Pursuit apex predator |
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Home: |
Skull Island |
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First Appearance: |
"The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island" (from 2005) |
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Diet: |
Carnivore |
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Size: |
Height: 3 meters |
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Status: |
Rescued from extinction during the 1938 Expedition on Skull Island. |
The Zeropteryx torova ("Bully zero wing") is a colorful, powerful phorusrhacid from the lowland plains of Skull Island. It measures 5-6 feet tall to the hip and is 9.8 feet tall (3 meters) in total.
Facts[]
Skull Island is home to several species of large flightless birds. The largest are heavily built, predatory species (such as phorusrhacids that live here, in a land outside the New World) with great axe-like beaks. Among the two apex predators of the grassy lowlands, Zeropteryx are among the heaviest of these and is second only to the slightly larger Brutornis, standing as high to its hips as a human man and with powerful running legs and huge claws.
A relatively colourful bird covered in black and red feathers. They are armed with an enormous razor-tipped, spade-like beaks, they are formidable predators. Anything that moves is potential game, even Ligocristus. The bladelike edge of the bird’s beak is as lethal as a pickax to smaller animals not fast enough to get away.
It was saved from extinction during a 1938 Expedition to Skull Island.
Trivia[]
- Although its name literally translates to zero wing, Zeropteryx clearly has defined wings in the artwork.
- Its bald head and neck indicates that, like Brutornis, Zeropteryx fully gorge themselves within the belly of their prey. Given that they hunt animals many times their size like Ligocristus, this is not a surprise.
- It is unknown how Zeropteryx can co-exist with Brutornis as both birds co-inhabit the same environment and prey selection, making niche partitioning incredibly difficult to assess without them going into conflict.
- Like Brutornis, it is unknown how Terror Birds like these managed to migrate from South America to the South Pacific.
- Like all animals from Skull Island. It is unknown what they faced during the sinking of the island. Given the multiple expeditions, there may be a chance that a few surviving populations was saved off-land to a more stable enclosure.