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.
With a wingspan double that of todayâs largest flyers, Pelagornis sandersi was truly the Big Bird of its day. Researchers describing fossil remains of P. sandersi for the first time say the bird had a wingspan of up to 24 feet, qualifying it as the largest flying bird ever to take to Earthâs skies.