New evidence of a giant bird from the Late Cretaceous of France
Résumé
A large heterocoelous cervical vertebra from the Late Cretaceous of Cruzy (Hérault, southern France) is described and referred to the giant bird Gargantuavis philoinos Buffetaut & Le Loeuff, 1998, confirming its avian nature. Gargantuavis appears to have been a long-necked bird with possibly a relatively small skull. Derived features such as heterocoely suggest that Gargantuavis was an advanced ornithuromorph, close to ornithurines.