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Dromornis
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the clade dromornithid, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, ''Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornis Planei
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the clade dromornithid, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, '' Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornis Australis
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the clade dromornithid, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, '' Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornis Stirtoni
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the clade dromornithid, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, ''Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornis
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the clade dromornithid, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, ''Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornithidae
Dromornithidae, known as mihirungs and informally as thunder birds or demon ducks, were a clade of large, flightless Australian birds of the Oligocene through Pleistocene Epochs. All are now extinct. They were long classified in Struthioniformes, but are now usually classified as galloanseres. Dromornithids were part of the Australian megafauna. One species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', was tall. Only a single species, ''Genyornis newtoni'' survived into the Late Pleistocene. They are thought to have been herbivorous. The scientific name Dromornithidae derives from the Greek words , ("swift-running") and , ("bird"). Classification The family was named by Max Fürbringer in 1888, citing W. B. Clarke and Gerard Krefft, Owen's separation from ''" Dromaeus"'' and ''Dinornis'', and a note by von Haast allying ''Dromornis'' with ''Dromaeus''. What the nearest relatives of this group are is a controversial issue. For many years it was thought that dromornithids were related to ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornithid
Dromornithidae, known as mihirungs and informally as thunder birds or demon ducks, were a clade of large, flightless Australian birds of the Oligocene through Pleistocene Epochs. All are now extinct. They were long classified in Struthioniformes, but are now usually classified as galloanseres. Dromornithids were part of the Australian megafauna. One species, '' Dromornis stirtoni'', was tall. Only a single species, '' Genyornis newtoni'' survived into the Late Pleistocene. They are thought to have been herbivorous. The scientific name Dromornithidae derives from the Greek words , ("swift-running") and , ("bird"). Classification The family was named by Max Fürbringer in 1888, citing W. B. Clarke and Gerard Krefft, Owen's separation from ''"Dromaeus"'' and '' Dinornis'', and a note by von Haast allying ''Dromornis'' with ''Dromaeus''. What the nearest relatives of this group are is a controversial issue. For many years it was thought that dromornithids were related to rati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil Birds
Birds evolved from certain feathered theropod dinosaurs, and there is no real dividing line between birds and non-avian dinosaurs except that some of the former survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event while the latter did not. For the purposes of this article, a 'bird' is considered to be any member of the clade Aves in the broadest sense.Sereno (2005) Some dinosaur groups which may or may not be true birds are listed below under Proto-birds. This page contains a listing of prehistoric bird taxa only known from completely fossilized specimens. These extinctions took place before the Late Quaternary and thus took place in the absence of significant human interference. While the earliest hominids had been eating birds and especially their eggs, human population and technology was simply insufficient to seriously affect healthy bird populations until the Upper Paleolithic Revolution. Rather, reasons for the extinctions listed here are stochastic abiotic events such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genyornis
''Genyornis newtoni'', also known as thunder bird and mihirung paringmal (meaning "giant bird"), is an extinct species of large, flightless bird that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch until around 50,000 years ago. Over two metres in height, they were likely herbivorous. Many other species of Australian megafauna became extinct in Australia around that time, coinciding with the arrival of humans. It is the last known member of the extinct flightless bird family Dromornithidae which had been part of the fauna of the Australian continent for over 30 million years. They are not closely related to ratites such as emus, and their closest living relatives are thought to be fowl. Taxonomy The species was first described in 1896 by Edward Charles Stirling and A. H. C. Zietz, the authors giving the epithet ''newtoni'' for the Cambridge professor Alfred Newton. The name of the genus is derived from ancient Greek terms referring to the lower jaw and a bird. The type s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anseriformes
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. Most modern species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at the water surface. With the exception of screamers, males have penises, a trait that has been lost in the Neoaves. Due to their aquatic nature, most species are web-footed. Evolution Anseriformes are one of only two types of modern bird to be confirmed present during the Mesozoic alongside the other dinosaurs, and in fact were among the very few birds to survive their extinction, along with their cousins the galliformes. These two groups only occupied two ecological niches during the Mesozoic, living in water and on the ground, while the toothed enantiornithes were the dominant bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilbandornis
''Ilbandornis'' was a genus of ostrich-sized dromornithid. It was far more lightly built than other members of the family, indicating a more cursorial lifestyle. The majority of researchers consider Dromornithids to be herbivorous; this is borne out by molecular analysis of the gastroliths and eggshells of both ''Ilbandornis'' and the related ''Genyornis''. While ''Ilbandornis'' and ''Genyornis'' have skulls of similar size to emus, other Dromornithids such as '' Bullockornis'' and ''Dromornis'' have far more robust skulls with large beaks; these were previously considered an adaptation for carnivory, but their blunt edges and lack of hooked tip indicate that the species were herbivorous. It is therefore likely that the differences in skull shape are due to differences in diet. There are currently two species included in the genus, ''Ilbandornis lawsoni'' and ''Ilbandornis woodburnei''. Both are known from the Alcoota Fossil Beds in the Northern Territory, from Waite Formatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vorombe
''Vorombe'' is one of three genera of elephant birds, an extinct family of large ratite birds endemic to Madagascar. Originally considered to be large '' Aepyornis'' specimens, it is now thought ''Vorombe'' are the largest and heaviest birds known to have existed. The genus was erected in 2018 after a detailed morphometric analysis. Taxonomy and naming ''Vorombe titan'' was first described by Charles William Andrews as ''Aepyornis titan'' in 1894, though it was later synonymized with the type species of ''Aepyornis'', ''A. maximus'', by American paleontologist Pierce Brodkorb in 1963. In 2018, James Hansford and Samuel Turvey, two researchers from the Zoological Society of London, found that it was sufficiently distinct from ''Aepyornis'' based on genetic and morphological evidence and allocated the species to a new genus, ''Vorombe''. They also recognized ''Aepyornis ingens'' as a synonym of ''Vorombe titan''. The study by Hansford and Turvey is the first taxonomic reassess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
