Oxygen is necessary to sustain most terrestrial life. Oxygen is used in cellular respiration and many major classes of organic molecules in living organisms contain oxygen, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and fats, as do the major constituent inorganic compounds of animal shells, teeth, and bone.
From wingtip to wingtip, P. sandersi measured at least 6.4 meters. The wandering albatross, the worldâs largest living bird, has a wingspan of 3.5 meters, and the giant, extinct South American condor, Argentavis magnificens, was right around 6 meters.
Scientists have identified the fossils of what could be the largest flying bird ever found. With an estimated 20- to 24-foot wingspan, the extinct P. sandersi was twice the size of today's biggest flying bird, the royal albatross, according to the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina. Researchers believe the P. sandersi lived about 25 million to 28 million years ago.