Analyzing a leg bone from a fossil site in Colombia, scientists have identified a massive “terror bird” that lived about 12 million years ago.

The discovery of a Phorusrhacid fossil in Colombia — the northernmost find of its kind — indicates that these giant predatory birds were more widespread than previously though

The bone, described two decades after its discovery, suggests the species might have grown up to 20 percent bigger than other terror birds

The fossilized leg bone of a giant “terror bird” discovered in Colombia provides new insights into ancient South American ecosystems, suggesting the bird was a major predator in a once-lush region millions of years ago.

While past terror bird fossils placed the meat-eating birds at 3 to 9 feet tall, new findings suggest that some were even bigger

Researchers including a Johns Hopkins University evolutionary biologist report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird—which they say could be the largest known member of its kind—providing new information about animal life in northern South America millions of years ago.