|
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] |
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] |
Genyornis Newtoni
''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 spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barawertornis
''Barawertornis tedfordi'' was a dromornithid (mihirung), a large flightless fowl hailing from Late Oligocene to Early Miocene. The only species in the genus ''Barawertornis'', its fossil remains are found in strata of the Riversleigh deposits located at two sites in Northwestern Queensland, Australia.Boles (2005) It was described in 1979 by Patricia Vickers-Rich from fragmentary but diagnostic remains, three pieces of the hind limbs and a vertebra.SAPE (1999) More fragments specimens were described in 2004 and new material that emerged from Riversleigh was analysed and compared with other dromornithids to test previously published theories on relationships within the family. ''B. tedfordi'' is currently the smallest known species of dromornithid, comparable in size to the cassowaries and weighing in at 80 to 95 kilograms.Boles (2001) This mihirung was a fleet-footed species, probably a herbivore, that dwelt in the forest habitat covering most of Australia at the time of t ... [...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 spe ... [...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 Formation sedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Megafauna
The term Australian megafauna refers to the megafauna in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch. Most of these species became extinct during the latter half of the Pleistocene, and the roles of human and climatic factors in their extinction are contested. There are similarities between the prehistoric Australian megafauna and some mythical creatures from the Aboriginal Dreamtime. Causes of extinction Many modern researchers, including Tim Flannery, think that with the arrival of early Aboriginal Australians (around 70,000~65,000 years ago), hunting and the use of fire to manage their environment may have contributed to the extinction of the megafauna. Increased aridity during peak glaciation (about 18,000 years ago) may have also contributed, but most of the megafauna were already extinct by this time. Others, including Steve Wroe, note that records in the Australian Pleistocene are rare, and there is not enough data to definitively determine the time of extinction of many o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osteodontornis BW
''Osteodontornis'' is an extinct seabird genus. It contains a single named species, ''Osteodontornis orri'' (Orr's bony-toothed bird, in literal translation of its scientific name), which was described quite exactly one century after the first species of the Pelagornithidae ('' Pelagornis miocaenus'') was. ''O. orri'' was named after then-recently deceased naturalist Ellison Orr. The bony-toothed or pseudotooth birds were initially believed to be related to albatrosses in the Procellariiformes, but actually they seem to be rather close relatives of either pelicans and storks, or of waterfowl, and are here placed in the order Odontopterygiformes to account for this uncertainty. Also, their internal taxonomy is not well-resolved. An earlier-described pseudotooth bird, ''Cyphornis magnus'' from Vancouver Island (Canada), was believed to be of Eocene age but is nowadays assumed to have lived about twenty million years ago in the Early Miocene, not too long before the Clarendonian ( Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelagornithidae
The Pelagornithidae, commonly called pelagornithids, pseudodontorns, bony-toothed birds, false-toothed birds or pseudotooth birds, are a prehistoric family of large seabirds. Their fossil remains have been found all over the world in rocks dating between the Early Paleocene and the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. Most of the common names refer to these birds' most notable trait: tooth-like points on their beak's edges, which, unlike true teeth, contained Volkmann's canals and were outgrowths of the premaxillary and mandibular bones. Even "small" species of pseudotooth birds were the size of albatrosses; the largest ones had wingspans estimated at 5–6 metres (15–20 ft) and were among the largest flying birds ever to live. They were the dominant seabirds of most oceans throughout most of the Cenozoic, and modern humans apparently missed encountering them only by a tiny measure of evolutionary time: the last known pelagornithids were contemporaries of ''Homo habilis'' and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gastornithidae
''Gastornis'' is an extinct genus of large flightless birds that lived during the mid Paleocene to mid Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. Fossils have been found in Europe, Asia and North America, with the remains from North America originally assigned to the genus ''Diatryma''. ''Gastornis'' species were very large birds, and have traditionally been considered to be predators of small mammals. However, several lines of evidence, including the lack of hooked claws in known ''Gastornis'' footprints and studies of their beak structure and isotopic signatures of their bones have caused scientists to reinterpret these birds as herbivores that probably fed on tough plant material and seeds. ''Gastornis'' is generally agreed to be related to Galloanserae, the group containing waterfowl and gamebirds. History ''Gastornis'' was first described in 1855 from a fragmentary skeleton. It was named after Gaston Planté, described as a "studious young man full of zeal", who had discover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerard Krefft
Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 19 February 1881), a talented artist and draughtsman, and the Curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861-1874), was one of Australia's first and most influential zoologists and palaeontologists. According to Macdonald, et al. (2007), Krefft "was among the first to raise the alarm" in relation to "the devastating effects" of the invasive species, such as "sheep, cats, etc., on native species". Also, along with significant others, such as the proprietor of the Melbourne ''Argus'', Edward Wilson, Krefft expressed considerable concern in relation to the effects of the expanding European settlement upon the indigenous population. In addition to his numerous scientific papers, his publications include ''The Snakes of Australia'' (1869), ''Guide to the Australian Fossil Remains in the Australian Museum'' (1870), ''The Mammals of Australia'' (1871), and ''Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odontoanserae
The Odontoanserae is a proposed clade that includes the family Pelagornithidae (pseudo-toothed birds) and the clade Anserimorphae (the order Anseriformes and their stem-relatives). The placement of the pseudo-toothed birds in the evolutionary tree of birds has been problematic, with some supporting the placement of them near the orders Procellariformes and Pelecaniformes based on features in the sternum. In 2005 a cladistic analysis had found support in placing pseudo-toothed birds as the sister group to waterfowl. Evidence for this comes from shared characteristics in the skull such as lack of a crest on the underside of the palatine bone and two condyles on the mandibular process of the quadrate bone, with the middle condyle beakwards of the side condyle. In addition to that, both groups have similar features in their pelvic and pectoral regions. Furthermore, a 2013 study on the growth pattern and structure of the pseudoteeth in ''Pelagornis mauretanicus'' shows more support o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
